- Joel Price
- (805) 370-0542
BACKGROUND: Assemblymember Irwin (D- Thousand Oaks), Californians Against Waste and Natural Resources Defense Council will hold a press conference to highlight Assembly Bill (AB) 660 that calls for uniform packaged food labeling standards to address confusion caused by varying and inconsistent phrasing of expiration dates. Assembly Bill (AB) 660 will assist consumers in understanding how long they can safely keep and consume products before discarding them.
Assembly Bill (AB) 660 builds on a 2017 law that established voluntary labeling standards, by requiring expiration date labels by January 1, 2025 to use the phrases “BEST if used by” to indicate peak freshness and “USE by” to indicate food safety. The bill prohibits the use of consumer visible “Sell-By” dates.
Studies have shown that consumers often throw away food before it has spoiled, and vague phrasing about expiration dates used on labels can be confusing. This consumer uncertainty is estimated by the Food and Drug Administration to cause about 20 percent of food waste. Making the current voluntary standards mandatory will reduce waste, save consumers money, and fight climate change by cutting the amount of food sent to landfills, where it produces methane gas as it decomposes. Methane is over 80 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Who: Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, Gracyna Mohabir of Californians Against Waste, and Darryl Little Jr. of Natural Resources Defense Council
Where: Lassens Natural Foods & Vitamins, 2150 Thousand Oaks Blvd, Thousand Oaks
When: Friday, May 5, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.
Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin represents California’s 42nd Assembly District, which includes portions of both Ventura and Los Angeles Counties; including all of Agoura Hills, Bel Air, Beverly Glen, Brentwood, Casa Conejo, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Lake Sherwood, Malibu, Moorpark, Oak Park, Pacific Palisades, Santa Susana, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Topanga, Westlake Village, and portions of Camarillo.