Misunderstood food date labels and reported food discards: A survey of U.S. consumer attitudes and behaviors

Neff, Roni A.; Spiker, Marie L.; Rice, Christina; Schklair, Alexandra; Greenberg, Sally; Leib, Emily Broad

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2019.01.023

Cited by 79 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…As our results suggest, women check expiration dates more often than men. This was also noted by Neff et al [5] and the European Commission Report [23]. We found that women eat food after the expiration date less often than men do.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…We found that women eat food after the expiration date less often than men do. Research Neff et al [5] did not confirm this observation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Almost 40% of the Polish respondents mistakenly believe that the term "best before" refers to food health safety, irrespective of sociodemographic variables. In the study by Neff et al [5], a similar percentage of respondents mistakenly believed that the term "use by" is related to product quality. Research carried out by Kosa et al [26] showed that 31% of respondents correctly identified the date of minimum durability and 18% correctly specified the definition of the term "use by."…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The results of this study revealed that almost half of the Polish respondents, regardless of their age, said that they never consume food after the expiry date. Neff et al [5] reported that consumers over 34 years of age discarded all of the tested food products based on the expiry date less often than younger people. Other studies also indicate that age can have a significant impact on food management [23].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Different wording on date labels and misunderstandings of the meaning of expiry dates directly lead to throwing away food more frequently [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Research suggests that consumers waste food products which are approaching the date of minimum durability for health and safety reasons [6,10], as well as for reasons related to food quality [11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Consumer Understanding of the Date of Minimum Durability of Food in Association with Quality Evaluation of Food Products After Expiration

Zielińska

Bilska

Marciniak-Łukasiak

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Food labelled with a “best before” date has a long shelf life. This study aimed to examine the respondents’ knowledge and understanding regarding the labelling on food products, as well as to assess the microbiological, physico–chemical and the sensory quality of selected durable food products on and after the date specified by the manufacturer. Two methods were used—a survey and laboratory tests. It was found that the majority of respondents have difficulty distinguishing and understanding the terms on the label and that a significant proportion of the respondents consume food products after the “best before” date. Laboratory tests of milk, pasta, mayonnaise and jam confirmed the microbiological safety of the products even six months after the “best before” date. Other features (texture, colour and sensory quality) slightly changed after one month for milk and mayonnaise (the colour had become more yellow) and after three months for pasta (its hardness had decreased) and jam (it had become browner). The possibility of extending the “best before” dates of selected durable foods could be considered, which could allow such products to legally be handed over to public benefit organisations, thereby reducing food wastage.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…We found that women eat food after the expiration date less often than men do. Research Neff et al [5] did not confirm this observation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Consumer Understanding of the Date of Minimum Durability of Food in Association with Quality Evaluation of Food Products After Expiration

Zielińska

Bilska

Marciniak-Łukasiak

et al. 2020

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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A review of packaging‐related studies in the context of household food waste: Drivers, solutions and avenues for future research

Chan

2021

Packag Technol Sci

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Packaging has the potential to reduce food waste and contribute to the United Nations sustainable development goal 12.3. Yet packaging is also a household food waste (FW) driver, necessitating packaging improvements. Through a review of primary consumer studies on household FW and packaging published 2006-2020, this study mapped the effects of packaging functions on different food categories to identify packaging-related FW drivers, solutions and research opportunities. Relevant studies are increasing, yet packaging yields less attention than factors including domestic routines. Many studies limit packaging discussion to the aspects attributed to wasted food, with date-labels and overly large pack sizes the most mentioned.Suggested solutions by extant literature include clearer date-labels and more pack size variety. However, research showing the effectiveness of these suggested solutions in households is lacking. Packaging formats and materials may affect packaging functionality and therefore household FW, but studies are lacking. There is therefore scope for household studies to collect more packaging related FW data. In particular, focussing on the effects of specific packaging functions on domestic food practices, with an effort to gather food-group-specific data. More studies in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Middle East and the Pacific/Oceania will provide insights beyond the current Eurocentric focus. These findings contribute to theory and practice within the focus of household FW and packaging literature, helping to extend existing research to support the development and implementation of packaging that considers regional differences in food systems, food routines and preferences for a better chance at reducing FW.

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The Ethics of Labeling Food Safety Risks

Swartz¹

2019

Food ethics

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Misunderstood food date labels and reported food discards: A survey of U.S. consumer attitudes and behaviors

Cited by 79 publications

References 26 publications

Consumer Understanding of the Date of Minimum Durability of Food in Association with Quality Evaluation of Food Products After Expiration

Consumer Understanding of the Date of Minimum Durability of Food in Association with Quality Evaluation of Food Products After Expiration

A review of packaging‐related studies in the context of household food waste: Drivers, solutions and avenues for future research

The Ethics of Labeling Food Safety Risks

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