California tries to clarify food date labels with new law
- California is trying to bring clarity to food date labels with a new law requiring manufacturers to use just two labels — one for quality and one for safety, the Associated Press reported.
- The United States has no federal regulations mandating standardized date labels on most foods; baby formula is the only exception.
- Common date labels including “Best Before,” “Best By,” “Best If Used By,” “Enjoy
Sources
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Food label dates are about freshness, not food safety
Associated Press ·
Machine-readable details
Article metadata
- Published
- Place
- United States
- Topic tags
- consumer goods, health, public health
- Primary entities
- California, United States
- Themes
- Food labeling, Food safety, Consumer awareness
- Floor values engaged
- Truthfulness, human_life_and_dignity, Informed citizenship
- Source cluster
- cluster_ap_2026-07-27_date-labels-food-safety-bb24663c6d37c100
- Framework version
- 1.5.0
- Generated
- Consensus floor
- v0.3.0
- Mindspec
- v0.3.0