Finding the “Best By” date on a food package can sometimes feel like a scavenger hunt. Some brands print it clearly on the front of the label. Others hide it in a tiny, hard-to-read font on the bottom of a can or the crimp of a bag. This lack of standardization is not an accident. There is no federal law that requires a uniform format for date labeling. This allows manufacturers to place and format the date in a variety of confusing ways, which can make it difficult for shoppers to assess a product’s freshness quickly.
