FMI shares the Agencies’ goals of providing consumers with clear information to assist in their food purchasing decisions and reducing consumer confusion and unnecessary consumer food waste. In 2017, FMI, along with the Consumer Brands Association (Formerly the Grocery Manufacturers Association), co-developed a voluntary standardized approach to guide the industry that uses a dual date labeling scheme: a quality-based date label (“BEST if Used By”) and a safety-based date label (“USE or Freeze By”). We provide details about the rationale behind the standards and information about how manufacturers and producers determine how to use the standard for their products in our answers to the questions in the RFI below.

We strongly encourage the Agencies to maintain a voluntary approach to date labeling and date labeling schemes in any future actions or guidance. The food industry produces and distributes a diverse range of products, all with different ingredients, manufacturing processes, end uses, and paths through the supply chain. Companies have the best insight into how their products are distributed, used, and viewed by consumers, retailers, or other business partners and how best to communicate quality and safety information. These traits are highly individual by product, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

In addition to our specific efforts on date labeling, FMI has also undertaken initiatives and projects focused on reducing food waste and furthering consumer understanding of the life cycle of food products to promote both food waste reduction and food safety. This includes our participation in the Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA) and our work with USDA and Cornell University on the FoodKeeper App. We appreciate the Agencies’ efforts to consider the important topic of food waste as it gathers information on date labeling.

 

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