Americans discard billions of pounds of edible food every year, and confusion over date labels drives much of this waste. Consumers see a date on a carton of milk or a can of beans and assume it functions as a safety deadline. In reality, federal law does not regulate these dates for most products, with the exception of infant formula. Manufacturers voluntarily print “Best By,” “Sell By,” and “Use By” dates to indicate peak quality, not food safety. This fundamental misunderstanding causes households to toss safe, nutritious food into the trash, essentially burning money with every garbage bag they fill.
