In the US, change the designation of the shelf life of products

Фото: Depositphotos

It is estimated that 60 billion kilograms (133 billion pounds) of food is thrown out in the US each year, which is enough to fill the Chicago tower of Willis 44 times. Globally, 1,3 billion tons of food is thrown out annually NPR.

And in all this one main culprit - confusion with dates on food. As soon as the date sell by gone, many of us throw away food that is completely safe to eat. A typical US family spends about $ 1500 on food, which is then thrown away. As a result, waste costs billions of dollars.

The new initiative, announced on Wednesday, 20 September, aims to harmonize the label use by on labels around the world.

The Consumer Goods Forum, a network of 400 largest food and consumer products companies around the world - including Walmart, Kellogg, Nestle, Campbell Soup, and Amazon - asks retailers and food manufacturers to take steps to simplify date marking.

“The goal is to simplify and harmonize date labeling worldwide and reduce consumer confusion,” said Ignacio Gavilan, director of sustainability at The Consumer Goods Forum.

The forum’s efforts are based on an initiative launched at the beginning of this year by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute. Together, two major trade associations for the production of food for consumers introduced a voluntary initiative to streamline the labeling of dates on food packaging. Instead of many competing terms, groups put forward a plan for using only two common phrases: “use before” and “better use before”.

The first phrase “use before” indicates the date after which perishable products should not be consumed. “Better to use before” indicates the period when the product has the best properties and flavor.

According to studies, these dates are usually indicate to one of 2 things: a signal to the grocery store from the manufacturer, when the product looks most attractive on the shelves, or an assumption about the period during which the consumer gets the most pleasure from the product.
Currently, consumers interpret this data differently: they tend to believe that this is a requirement of food safety, which are regulated by some standards.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Why Americans overpay for products: 10 reasons

Four inexpensive things I love in the USA

10 Things You Shouldn't Buy at Costco

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.