Imagine this: You’re unwinding at home after having a stressful, long day at work. As you assemble the ingredients for your favorite lazy dinner recipe, you see the milk’s “Sell By” date has already come and gone. Frustrated, you toss it in the trash and haul yourself back to the grocery store for a replacement. OK, now what if we told you the “Sell By” label doesn’t actually have anything to do with the item's quality or freshness? In fact, it’s not even meant for your consumption. It’s confusing, right?
Knowing whether your groceries are safe to eat shouldn’t be a guessing game. That’s why California governor Gavin Newsom just signed legislation that will ban “Sell By” dates for good in the Golden State, which will cut down on food waste.
RELATED: 10 Products You Can Ignore the Expiration Date On.
Signed into law on Sept. 28, the California Assembly Bill 660 (AB 660) will “standardize quality and safety labels on food products to create clarity and consistency and better inform consumers in order to significantly reduce food waste,” reads the press release.
Going forward, manufacturers, processors, and retailers selling food in California won’t be permitted to use “Sell By” dates or other “ambiguous and inconsistent” language like “Expires On” and “Freshest By,” reports FoodSafety magazine.
Instead, all companies must adhere to a new universal language code, which only allows for the use of “Best If Used By” and "Use By” date food labels.
The legislation, which goes into effect on July 1, 2026, clearly outlines the distinction between the two labels. “Best If Used By” will indicate peak quality (i.e., Milk may start to taste sour after this date), while “Use By” will indicate food product safety (i.e., Milk consumed after this date may make you sick).
Infant formula, eggs, beer, and malt beverages are the exceptions to this new rule.
Bradley Rickard, PhD, a food and agricultural economics professor, told Food & Wine that the elimination of “Sell By” dates should clear up “any food safety concerns” that, for all intents and purposes, are totally unnecessary.
“Some people will see the sell-by date and will assume this means something about food safety, and will then throw the item out even though there [are] unlikely any food safety concerns for many foods for a reasonable amount of time after the sell-by date,” he explained.
RELATED: 8 Foods That Are Most Likely to Cause Food Poisoning, CDC Says.
California’s AB 660 is unprecedented, with California assemblymember Jacqui Irwin calling it a “first-in-the-nation bill.”
“Having to wonder whether our food is still good is an issue that we all have struggled with. Today’s signing of AB 660 is a monumental step to keep money in the pockets of consumers while helping the environment and the planet,” Irwin said in the release.
Until the law goes into effect, or if you live outside California, you can follow this food dating breakdown from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS):
- A "Best if Used By/Before" date indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
- A "Sell-By" date tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management. It is not a safety date.
- A “Use-By" date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. It is not a safety date except for when used on infant formula as described below.
- A “Freeze-By” date indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
