Dinner and a Date: the Misguiding Nature of Expiration Dates and Their Influence on Consumer Food Waste Behavior

Abstract

Food waste is largely considered one of the greatest paradoxes of today: while millions of people in the world starve, we waste an astonishing amount of the food we produce. One factor that produces a substantial amount of food waste is the consumer misinterpretation of food date labels, which are inconsistent, confusing, and misunderstood. This study is a comprehensive overview of the history of food dates in the United States, the failures of the current system, an analysis of current consumer perceptions of food dates, and concrete recommendations for needed actions to solve this food date labeling crisis.