A recent report from the House of Commons committee on agriculture and agri-food emphasizes the need for Canada to reevaluate the significance of best-before dates, as their misunderstood purpose leads to unnecessary food waste.
While many Canadians believe that best-before dates indicate the safety of a food product, experts clarified that these dates merely signify when a product is no longer at its peak freshness.
According to Kate Parizeau, a food waste researcher at the University of Guelph, there is considerable confusion surrounding food labels, with best-before dates often being mistaken for expiry dates.
Only a few products in Canada have true expiry dates, usually ones that require specific nutritional conditions, such as baby formula. Best-before dates, however, are imposed on foods expected to deteriorate within 90 days.
Parizeau notes that food manufacturers and processors frequently apply best-before dates to a wide range of products, resulting in limited usefulness.
To address this issue, Parizeau suggests that consumers educate themselves on food safety to determine whether grocery items are spoiled.
Parizeau emphasizes the disconnection between consumers and their food sources, as many individuals lack knowledge regarding when products were harvested and how long they are expected to remain fresh.
Consequently, consumers place trust in the dates provided by manufacturers, despite not understanding how those decisions were made.
The report highlights the detrimental impact of best-before dates on food waste and food insecurity in Canada.
Lori Nikkel, CEO of Second Harvest Canada, notes that these dates often lead individuals to discard "perfectly good food," while many others face hunger due to rising costs.
The report recommends that the government investigate the potential effects of eliminating best-before dates to prevent the wasteful disposal of safe and consumable food, ultimately saving Canadians money on their grocery bills.
While the exact impact of food waste on prices remains unclear, reducing waste would likely lower household grocery expenses and potentially influence market prices.