«The customer comes first in our business, and this
voluntary industry initiative provides shoppers with clear, easily understood date
label information, so our customers can be confident in the product's
quality and safety,» said Joe Colalillo, president of ShopRite of Hunterdon County, Inc. and chairman and CEO of Wakefern Food Corp. «Food retailers and manufacturers are working towards the common goal of bringing consistency and greater clarity in product date
label messaging.
Under the new
voluntary plan, only two standard
labels will appear on food: «use by» for perishable items, indicating the last day they can be safely consumed, and «best if used by,» indicating the last date of peak
quality for the product.