Food Date Labeling Act of 2025

This legislation aims to make date labels on food easier to understand. If companies choose to put dates on packages, they must use one of two clear phrases: “BEST If Used By” for quality (taste/texture) and “USE By” for safety. Short versions (“BB” and “UB”) are allowed only on very small packages. Dates must be easy to read and shown as month/year or month/day/year. Companies may also use tools like time–temperature indicators, QR codes, or smart labels, and may add “freeze by” to help prevent waste. Using date labels is optional, but if a company uses them, they have to follow these rules .

Labels that don’t follow these rules can be treated as misbranded under federal food, meat, poultry, and egg laws. The government will create consumer education and final rules within two years. The new rules apply to foods labeled two years after the law takes effect. States can keep or set rules that block sales or donations after a “USE By” (safety) date, but they can’t require different phrases, and they can’t ban sales or donations just because a “BEST If Used By” (quality) date has passed. Infant formula is not covered by this law .

• Who is affected: food makers, grocers, and consumers who read date labels .
• What changes:
  • Uniform phrases: “BEST If Used By” (quality) and “USE By” (safety); “BB/UB” allowed only if space is too small .
  • Clear placement and date format; “freeze by” may be added; smart labels/QR codes allowed, including instead of text in some cases .
  • Noncompliant labels can be treated as misbranded under federal law .
• When:
  • Consumer education and final rules due within 2 years; applies to foods labeled 2 years after enactment .