One school of thought towards the contributing factors of food waste is the fact that labeling doesn’t help consumers truly understand how best to store and eat their foods. It perhaps even makes things more confusing, therefore leading to an unnecessary amount of food being discarded.

The often disparate terms used on food labeling to denote when the product should be eaten proves to be confusing for many US consumers, according to a new poll conducted for the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and Food Policy Action Network by Lake Research Partners.

It showed how almost 60 percent of Americans have had a discussion within their household about the meaning of date labels on their food. 

The current range of variations of date labels such as “best by, use by, sell by, use or freeze by,” found on food packaging around the country is problematic for consumers, who often do not properly understand their meaning. In turn, many consumers then throw away food unnecessarily. 

According to the poll, the different terms cause confusion and 40 percent of adults said that they have had disagreements within their household over whether a food product should be kept or thrown away.

“Clarity on product date labeling will reduce confusion, cut food waste, and enable households to spend their time arguing about something other than what a date label means, like sports, politics, or what channel to watch on TV,” says Meghan Stasz, GMA’s senior director of sustainability.

In February, GMA and the Food Marketing Institute joined together to streamline and standardize the wording accompanying the date labels on packages, to offer greater clarity regarding the quality and safety of products.

The new voluntary initiative streamlines the myriad of date labels on consumer products packaging down to just two standard phrases. 

“BEST If Used By” describes product quality, indicating that the product may not taste or perform as expected, but is safe to use or consume, while “USE By” applies to the few products that are highly perishable and/or have a food safety concern over time; these products should be consumed by the date listed on the package – and disposed of after that date. 

The aim of this initiative is to reduce consumer confusion over dates on the product label, save households time and money, and help reduce unnecessary food waste.

The poll also found that older Americans are slightly more likely to keep food for longer periods of time, while younger Americans will throw food away earlier based on the date label. While more men say they are the ones in the household arguing to keep food longer; 64 percent of men make this claim, versus 56 percent of women.