2025/01/01 by Jelili Adegboyega Adebiyi, Noleen R. Chikowore, Angel Forde · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability
paper · pdf · doi:10.5304/jafscd.2025.144.021
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Food waste is a growing global issue with significant consequences, including the intensification of food insecurity, the exacerbation of climate change, and environmental degradation. Efforts to address the problem, particularly at the consumer level, have not been effective. This is mainly because consumer food waste and reduction efforts are influenced by multiple interacting and highly contextual factors, including purchasing behaviors, and consumer opinions, attitudes, and understanding of food date labels, of which there are about 50 in the U.S. There is uncertainty and persistent misunderstanding abound regarding the meaning of food date labels. This requires investigating the causes of the misunderstandings to determine how they can be better addressed. We explored the food purchasing attitudes, knowledge, and opinions of U.S. consumers regarding food date labels using quota sampling. Data was collected through a survey completed by 742 respondents. Many U.S. consumers still do not understand the difference between best before and use by dates, as well as the primary purpose of best by, use by, and sell by dates. The date labels were conflated with food safety, leading to food waste when a food item passes its best by, sell by, or use by date. The sell by date was misunderstood as implying food quality. The use by date was the most likely to be misunderstood and misrepresented by U.S. consumers. We identified how this confusion could be addressed and how U.S. food retailers can contribute to reducing consumer food waste by offering price discounts for individual food items, rather than promotions that encourage the bulk purchasing to receive discounts.