About 30 Percent of the U.S. Food Supply Is Lost or Wasted

A large share of the food produced in the United States is never eaten. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 30 percent of the food supply is lost or wasted at the retail and consumer levels. The department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service points to one avoidable cause. One source of food waste arises from consumers or retailers throwing away wholesome food because of confusion about the meaning of dates displayed on the label. Those dates, the agency explains, are generally about quality and not safety. To reduce the confusion, it recommends that food manufacturers and retailers that apply product dating use a “Best if Used By” date. The reasoning is simple. Food that has passed such a date should still be safe if handled properly until spoilage is evident, so the date alone is no reason to throw it out.