Food waste is a serious issue that proper labeling might be able to help prevent, not just in the United State but in other markets as well. Reuters has reported that the European Union is looking to get rid of labels that establish a date which produce is “best before.”
Sweden and the Netherlands have both come together to try and address this problem by considering removing this advisory on food products. The reason that this common label is being reconsidered is that the labels might be unnecessary for items that can actually last longer than such a date might suggest.
This ideas has been put forward in a paper that suggests, among other things, that 100 million tons of food goes to waste in Europe every year. An article in EurActive on this effort features excerpts from a letter sent to an EU representative explaining the way this waste can be addressed.
“In many European countries date labeling is causing unnecessary food waste,” the letter read. “Without overturning the system as such, the Netherlands and Sweden think that some changes and actions can be taken to reduce the amount of food waste caused by the labeling system.”
One alternative that some companies might have is to use a Primera label printer to try and create labels that explain what language like “best before” really means. It might seem like a hassle to add this information to a product’s label, but while regulations wait to be changed it can be a more practical alternative to include some fine print that gets the message across and promotes better behavior.
Without the proper labeling, consumers can make dangerous assumptions about a product, but by adding some helpful labels you can try and prevent such assumptions from leading to waste.
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