Sat Mar 08 2025
ZFWC Submits Comment in Response to USDA and FDA’s Joint Request for Information on Food Date Labels, Invites Federal Standardization
This week, the Zero Food Waste Coalition (ZFWC) submitted a comment in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Request for Information on Food Date Labeling.
The ZFWC—alongside many other food loss and waste champions—has supported federal standardization of food date labels since its inception, including through its support of the bipartisan Food Date Labeling Act and its engagement around the National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics.
With the recent release of USDA and FDA’s joint Request for Information (RFI) on date labeling, the Coalition was eager to submit a comment to elevate opportunities to address the $22 billion of food waste associated with date labels annually.
The Coalition’s comment includes:
- A thorough explanation of the inconsistencies within the current state-by-state patchwork of date labeling regulations that lead to excessive amounts of food waste at the retail and household levels;
- Multiple peer-reviewed and published research articles that demonstrate food date labels routinely and widely confuse consumers, stymie food donation efforts, and create supply-chain inefficiencies; and
- The multiple benefits created across the food system that come from standardizing food date labels, including cost savings for consumers, streamlining government processes, and reducing economic losses borne by food businesses.
Additionally, ZFWC encouraged its 250+ member organizations and other food waste champions to submit comments and created a toolkit with comment templates for organizations, industry members, or individuals.
The ZFWC looks forward to seeing the collective response to the RFI and welcomes agency leadership to improve food date labeling in the U.S.
To learn more about or join the Zero Food Waste Coalition, please email zfwcoalition@gmail.com.
The Zero Food Waste Coalition aims to inform and influence policy at the local, state, and federal levels, and share policy updates and opportunities with partners and stakeholders around the country to bring consumers, businesses, and government together to make food loss and waste history. The Coalition was launched by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), ReFED, and The Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) in April 2023, formalizing a partnership that began in January 2020.
CONTACT:
Zero Food Waste Coalition, zfwcoalition@gmail.com