California bans 'sell by' dates for most food. Could the change in labeling reduce waste?

Perishable food sold in California stores generally can no longer have “sell by” dates on them, under a new law that took effect in July 2026.

Instead, food can have “best if used by” or “use by” dates listed; they can also have “best if frozen by” or “freeze by” dates.

The idea is to make it clearer for consumers about how long they can keep food in their fridges or pantries and also reduce the amount of food that’s thrown out.

Margarethe Cooper, an associate professor of practice in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Arizona, joined The Show to talk about it.

Full conversation

MARK BRODIE: Margarethe, what do you think about this new California law?

MARGARETHE COOPER: Yeah, I think part of this has to do with some confusion on the part of the consumer with all the different kinds of labels that they might be seeing, and those can range anywhere from a “best if used by,” a “sell by,” or “use by.” And so having that additional “sell by” doesn’t really add value to the consumer. When we’re in the store and we see that, we might be misled by what that means. And typically, that is for inventory management for stores so that they have an idea on how long to display a product, so it’s not really a food safety date.

MARK BRODIE: It kind of makes sense, right? If I buy, let’s say, eggs at the grocery store and it says sell by a particular date, that doesn’t really tell me how much longer I can still eat those eggs or cook with those eggs after I’ve bought them, right?

MARGARETHE COOPER: Exactly.

MARK BRODIE: So do you think that the new labeling language will help address that problem?

MARGARETHE COOPER: I think it can help start clearing things up. I think there still is information that may be helpful for consumers to be aware of. For example, the “best if used by” date is going to tell a consumer the best flavor or quality of that food item, and it’s not really a purchase or safety date.

So regarding that, a lot of times we have food waste happening. In fact, across the US, it’s estimated upwards of 30% of food is wasted, and a lot of it does have to do with confusion on whether food is safe, wholesome to consume.

So these dates are a guideline. We also can use our senses to detect if there’s spoilage. And so those are going to be things like looking if a food item is slimy, if it has an odor to it and so on. So you may be able to see, smell that something is off.

MARK BRODIE: Well, do you think that for folks who may be if they’re not sure about something or see a “sell by” date and it’s past that, are they thinking about whether or not the food will taste as good as it could, or whether or not it’s going to make them sick?

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MARGARETHE COOPER: I think it really just depends on the individual. I think one of the big things that can get lost when we purchase food is kind of the basic guidelines that we think about in food safety, the four steps to food safety: clean, cook, separate, and chill.

Things as simple as washing your hands before you prepare things, things like not cross-contaminating raw meat with those delicious strawberries you’re going to consume. Having separate cutting boards.

A lot of times, what we know is that folks are more likely to get sick based on food safety practices that are very easy to follow. So I think when we’re purchasing things in the store, we might be looking at those dates. I think everyone’s going to have a different perspective on what they think that means, and that’s where I think there’s some confusion between these typical dates folks might see.

MARK BRODIE: It seems like there are kind of two very distinct camps when it comes to this kind of thing. There’s the folks who believe that the dates don’t really mean anything — that, as you say, use your senses. You can tell if the milk is spoiled, you can see if there’s mold on the bread or on a dairy product or something like that. And then there are other people who maybe don’t trust their senses, and as soon as they see that date, it’s going in the trash.

MARGARETHE COOPER: Yeah, I completely agree. And so that’s where, “if in doubt, throw it out” is one of the adages. I think the other camp being, of course, thinking about reducing food waste. So I can totally see trying to balance that between the two.

So certain things for sure, like you said, if it smells off, don’t consume it. It’s not the same as getting sick from like you have pathogens, which are like bacteria or viruses or parasites that make you sick, but then there’s spoilage microbes. Those are the things that are going to change the flavor of foods to make them smell distasteful. You certainly don’t want to eat those, and they certainly could elicit a reaction if you consumed it, but most of us are going to know that’s not safe to consume.

I do want to specify that a really important date: The only date that is federally required is infant formula. That one is a hard stop, it’s a “use by” date, and that has to do with strict controls and guidelines regarding safety and nutrition for infants.

MARK BRODIE: So do you think that in California, now that the food will say “best if used by,” “best if frozen by,” do you think that will actually make an appreciable dent in the amount of food waste, at least in California?

MARGARETHE COOPER: I really think it’s going to be kind of an interesting experiment. Seeing as that the dates are still going to be — folks are still going to have to see “best if used by” or “use by,” and what do those two mean, perhaps if there’s an educational campaign of some sort as well. So I’ll be interested to kind of follow the story.

MARK BRODIE: Well, it seems like there’s still going to be some interpretation here, right? Because if I get something that says “best if used by,” that doesn’t necessarily say it’s not safe to eat it after that date. It maybe just, to the point you were making earlier, might not be peak flavor.

So I suspect — and please correct me if you think I’m wrong — that there will still be people who, sort of in those distinct camps, right? Some people once it gets to that “best if used by” date, regardless of what it looks like or smells like, if there’s any question at all, they’re just going to toss it. And other people are going to say, “Looks fine, smells fine, I can keep using it past that date.”

MARGARETHE COOPER: I think there still could be some confusion. Looking at Assembly Bill 660, it’s “best if used by” or “use by,” and I think the distinction they’re making here is no more “sell by.”

And they’re saying “best if used by” means — they’re saying it indicates a quality date, and that the “use by” indicates a safety date. But technically, as I mentioned earlier, if you look at the guidance that we have, it is not really a safety date in the sense that we can still consume certain foods safely. And a lot of it has to do with, again, seeing if there’s any spoilage indications in the food item.

Now, kind of the wild card when we think about our food is that certain foods that are perishable are going to be quite sensitive to being kept in what we call the temperature danger zone, which is between 40°F and 140°F. If you have a perishable food item — milk, fresh meat, eggs, those sorts of things — if you subject it to that temperature abuse, then you’re really going to increase the likelihood that spoilage is going to accelerate.

MARK BRODIE: On a philosophical level, if we really want to reduce food waste, how much of it comes from sort of policy changes like what we’re seeing in California, and how much of it has to be on us, on consumers, to really think about food differently, maybe think about what we buy differently, think about what we keep in our homes and how we keep it in our homes differently?

MARGARETHE COOPER: I think it’s a combination of both. And I think where regulatory agencies like California at the state level might invest in or think about education to then inform the public so that they can make better decisions, I think there’s an opportunity from regulatory agencies if they’re enacting these, such as what California is doing, to educate the public because I think there are a lot of great — it’s an opportunity to present some tips to the public as to how they can better use their food more effectively, more nutritiously, safely and deliciously.

MARK BRODIE: Margarethe Cooper is an associate professor of practice in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Arizona.