Consumer understanding of food date labels: preventing food wastage

Purpose Confusion over the interpretation of date labels is one of the main causes of food waste at the retail and consumer level. The purpose of this study was to determine consumer understanding of food date labels and to assess consumer perception of food waste based on these labels. Design/methodology/approach It is a cross-sectional study carried out in India. Google forms were used to administer an online structured questionnaire. A total of 389 individuals participated in the study. The data were analyzed using Chi-square statistics and ordinal logistic regression. Findings The results affirmed that most of the consumers frequently looked at date labels while purchasing food products, but many of them did not have adequate knowledge of commonly used date label terms. In particular, respondents tended to misunderstand the "best before" date label as the last date for safe consumption, that is, a safety indicator that is not correct. The study indicated that lack of appropriate knowledge, misunderstanding of date labels and lack of complete information contributed toward unnecessary and excess discard of foods that may otherwise perfectly be safe and edible. Practical implications Raising public awareness, educating consumers about food date labels and pushing for standardizing the information on date labels by providing adequate guidelines to companies would enable consumers to better interpret the labels, and it would lead to lowering the unnecessary food wastage. Originality/value This study fulfills an important knowledge gap in respect of examining the food date label knowledge and its relationship with food waste practices in India.