New York Looks To Ban “Sell By” Stickers On Food

Food, unfortunately, doesn't last forever. As much as we wish, all food will decompose and be inedible.

Because of this, food sellers are required to label food with dates that they will become unusable, but this system isn't airtight, so New York wants to change it...

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"Sell By"

Most perishable food you buy will have one of three stamps on them:

• Use By
• Sell By
• Best if Used By

These all take different meanings, which can be confusing to a consumer. "Use By" means you should use the product by the date, and once it's out of date, the food is unsafe to eat.

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"Best if Used By" means that the product won't be expired by the date, but you should approach with caution.

"Sell By" is the weird one, it's solely used for stores that sell these items, but consumers usually try to compare this to a "Use By".

That's what New York wants to change.

What is New York Changing?

These stickers have led to massive amounts of food waste, as food that may not have been expired is being thrown out solely because of the date shown on the sticker.

New York's latest bill, if passed would make some changes...

• "Use By": This would now mean a safety date, in which it is unsafe to consume the product after that set date.
• "Best if Used By": This will keep its original meaning.
• "Sell By": This is now officially being taken off of food sold to consumers, and will only be used for retail stores to know when to pull merch off of shelves.