Best By Confusion
Consumer misunderstanding around “best by” dates contributes to food waste, experts agree. Retail practices, manufacturers’ decisions, and lack of regulations aren’t helping.
Consumers share a huge part of the blame for food waste. But in defense of western households, they get very little help from expiration dates on the food they purchase, despite the highly sophisticated supply chains that depend on precision everywhere else.
How are consumers supposed to interpret the date on the package? Consumers’ typical response is to take no chances with disappointing sensory experiences or food poisoning and to jettison foods by, or even before, specified dates, witho…
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