California sets new standards: clear rules for food marking

California sets new standards: clear rules for food marking

In California, a new legislation was passed, which is intended to end the puzzle rates about the durability of food. Governor Gavin Newsom has recently signed a law that prohibits the misleading "consumption" and "best before" date information. The aim of this measure is to reduce food waste as well as to reduce the harmful climate emissions of the state.

Currently there are over 50 different labels for durability data on foods that often cause confusion among consumers. This information is not legally standardized and contribute little to food safety. The data often only indicates until when the retailers should sell the product without making a statement about the edible quality.

The Details of the new law

Legislation will come into force in 2026 and provides for the use of new labels: "Best IF Used by" for the optimal quality and "use by" for food safety. These suggestions are based on the recommendations of federal authorities. Exceptions exist for eggs, beer and other malt drinks.

With this step, California not only wants to reduce consumers' uncertainty, but also create economic advantages. Estimates show that around 6 million tons of unused foods end up in the trash every year in California, which makes around 20% of national food waste.

"It is a huge step to protect consumers' finances and at the same time to help the environment," explained the democratic MP Jacqui Irwin, who initiated the law. She emphasized that the draft law aims to support other measures that have previously failed against food waste and to dissolve the confusion caused by the various names.

Legislation is an important initiative because it comes against the background of similar but unsuccessful experiments at the federal level. In the past ten years, California legislators have tried to introduce clear food labeling guidelines. An equal law failed in 2016 due to resistance, and a voluntary rule for uniform labeling, which was adopted in 2017, was not followed by most companies.

However, it remains to be seen how strongly this new regulation will influence the entire food industry in the United States. Consumers like the 23-year-old Jasmine Acosta are happy about the announced law. "Most people do not understand the current labels," she says. "It is confusing for consumers."

acosta, which once worked in a small grocery store, expresses that when buying meat, it pays attention to checking the smell or color, since the current date alone is not meaningful enough. "If the new system is more understandable, it would help everyone save money and reduce food waste," she adds.

It will be interesting to observe how this law develops and what effect it will have on the consumer behavior of people and industry. What the future of food identification in the USA looks like could depend on this California advance.