According to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Assemblyman David Chiu has proposed a food labeling measure, AB 2725, designed to give consumers standard guidelines on the timeframe that they can safely keep and store food. AB 2725 would standardize date labels on food, creating one standard label for “best if used by” and one standard label for “expires on.” If signed into law, manufacturers would have to affix a”best if used by” label to signify when the food’s quality is optimal. Additionally, manufacturers would need to affix an “expires on” label to indicate the timeframe that perishable foods are safe to eat.

According to the Washington Post, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that about 1.6 billion tons of food were wasted in 2007, compared with about 6 billion tons of food produced globally that year. The FAO also estimated that in 2007, “the global carbon footprint of all wasted food was about 3.3 billion tons of carbon-dioxide equivalents,” or about 7 percent of all global emissions. The organization contends food waste occurs at all stages of the supply chain, but most significantly with agricultural production, which accounts for about a third of all food lost. The FAO published tips for reducing waste along the supply chain, noting that improved resource allocation and technology are needed to prevent food waste during the harvesting and processing phases of food production.

Waste management website WasteDive contends standardizing dates on labels could keep nearly 400,000 tons of food out of landfills and that consumers would spend less on food, while also helping food banks stock products longer.

A copy of the proposed California legislation is available here.