IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i6p2630-d1613712.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can Food Waste Policies Promote Sustainability?: Relationships of Food Date Label Policies with Food Waste and Safety Outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Balca Alaybek

    (The MITRE Corporation, 7515 Colshire Drive, McLean, VA 22102, USA)

  • Grace Mika

    (The MITRE Corporation, 7515 Colshire Drive, McLean, VA 22102, USA)

  • John A. Aitken

    (The MITRE Corporation, 7515 Colshire Drive, McLean, VA 22102, USA)

  • Rob Hartman

    (The MITRE Corporation, 7515 Colshire Drive, McLean, VA 22102, USA)

  • Julia Painter

    (The MITRE Corporation, 7515 Colshire Drive, McLean, VA 22102, USA)

  • Emily M. Broad Leib

    (Food Law and Policy Clinic, The Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA)

  • Regan Plekenpol

    (Food Law and Policy Clinic, The Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA)

  • Joseph S. Beckmann

    (Food Law and Policy Clinic, The Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA)

  • Laura Leets

    (The MITRE Corporation, 7515 Colshire Drive, McLean, VA 22102, USA)

  • Amber Sprenger

    (The MITRE Corporation, 7515 Colshire Drive, McLean, VA 22102, USA)

Abstract

Food waste is a major contributor to climate change and a barrier to environmental sustainability. As such, reducing food waste is estimated to be one of the most promising strategies to reverse global warming. One way to address food waste is to implement effective policies, which requires an understanding of the impact of current policies on food waste and other relevant outcomes. The current study examined the impact of United States (U.S.) states’ date label policies on food waste and foodborne illness. We found that states with more date label restrictions had greater waste, but this effect was not significant. In addition, date label restrictions and foodborne illness were not related. This shows that current date label policies do not help to reduce food waste or improve public health. In other words, current U.S. state food waste policies do not promote sustainability. We discuss the implications for date label policy content and offer future research directions.

Suggested Citation

  • Balca Alaybek & Grace Mika & John A. Aitken & Rob Hartman & Julia Painter & Emily M. Broad Leib & Regan Plekenpol & Joseph S. Beckmann & Laura Leets & Amber Sprenger, 2025. "Can Food Waste Policies Promote Sustainability?: Relationships of Food Date Label Policies with Food Waste and Safety Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-17, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:6:p:2630-:d:1613712
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/6/2630/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/6/2630/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wilson, Norbert L.W. & Miao, Ruiqing & Weis, Carter S., 2019. "When in Doubt, Throw It Out! The Complicated Decision to Consume (or Waste) Food by Date Labels," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 34(01), February.
    2. Yu, Yang & Jaenicke, Edward C., 2021. "The effect of sell-by dates on purchase volume and food waste," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Garrone, Paola & Melacini, Marco & Perego, Alessandro, 2014. "Opening the black box of food waste reduction," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 129-139.
    4. Juliane Jörissen & Carmen Priefer & Klaus-Rainer Bräutigam, 2015. "Food Waste Generation at Household Level: Results of a Survey among Employees of Two European Research Centers in Italy and Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-21, March.
    5. John A. Aitken & Amber Sprenger & Balca Alaybek & Grace Mika & Halene Hartman & Laura Leets & Ellyn Maese & Telli Davoodi, 2024. "Surveys and Diaries and Scales, Oh My! A Critical Analysis of Household Food Waste Measurement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-18, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jiang, J.-Q. & Yu, T. & Wang, Z.-H. & Qi, D.-M & Huang, W.-Z, 2018. "Analyzing the Size and Affecting Factors of Household Food Waste in China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277551, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Brenna Ellison & Linlin Fan & Norbert L.W. Wilson, 2022. "Is it more convenient to waste? Trade‐offs between grocery shopping and waste behaviors," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(S1), pages 75-89, November.
    3. Zhang, Jin & Huang, Yidi & Zhu, Junming & Zhao, Lijun, 2023. "A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of food-waste reducing nudges," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    4. Carolina Fredes & Francisco García & María Ignacia Pérez & Rodrigo Fernández-Verdejo, 2020. "Exploring Fruit and Vegetable Waste in Homeless Shelters that Receive Surplus Donation from a Wholesale Market in Chile," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-16, October.
    5. George Tsalis & Birger Boutrup Jensen & S. Wiley Wakeman & Jessica Aschemann-Witzel, 2021. "Promoting Food for the Trash Bin? A Review of the Literature on Retail Price Promotions and Household-Level Food Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-21, April.
    6. Secondi, Luca & Principato, Ludovica & Laureti, Tiziana, 2015. "Household food waste behaviour in EU-27 countries: A multilevel analysis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 25-40.
    7. Beata Bilska & Marzena Tomaszewska & Danuta Kołożyn-Krajewska, 2019. "Analysis of the Behaviors of Polish Consumers in Relation to Food Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.
    8. D’Amato, Alessio & Goeschl, Timo & Lorè, Luisa & Zoli, Mariangela, 2023. "True to type? EU-style date marking and the valuation of perishable food," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    9. Johnson, Lisa K. & Dunning, Rebecca D. & Gunter, Chris C. & Dara Bloom, J. & Boyette, Michael D. & Creamer, Nancy G., 2018. "Field measurement in vegetable crops indicates need for reevaluation of on-farm food loss estimates in North America," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 136-142.
    10. Luca Secondi, 2019. "Expiry Dates, Consumer Behavior, and Food Waste: How Would Italian Consumers React If There Were No Longer “Best Before” Labels?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-15, December.
    11. Shahin Ghaziani & Delaram Ghodsi & Gholamreza Dehbozorgi & Shiva Faghih & Yeganeh Rajabpour Ranjbar & Reiner Doluschitz, 2021. "Comparing Lab-Measured and Surveyed Bread Waste Data: A Possible Hybrid Approach to Correct the Underestimation of Household Food Waste Self-Assessment Surveys," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    12. Danilo Bertoni & Daniele Cavicchioli & Franco Donzelli & Giovanni Ferrazzi & Dario G. Frisio & Roberto Pretolani & Elena Claire Ricci & Vera Ventura, 2018. "Recent Contributions of Agricultural Economics Research in the Field of Sustainable Development," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-20, December.
    13. Lingfei Wang & Yuqin Yang & Guoyan Wang, 2022. "The Clean Your Plate Campaign: Resisting Table Food Waste in an Unstable World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.
    14. Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica & de Hooge, Ilona E. & Almli, Valérie L., 2021. "My style, my food, my waste! Consumer food waste-related lifestyle segments," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    15. Thyberg, Krista L. & Tonjes, David J., 2016. "Drivers of food waste and their implications for sustainable policy development," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 110-123.
    16. Díaz-Ruiz, Raquel & Costa-Font, Montserrat & López-i-Gelats, Feliu & Gil, José, 2015. "Defining scenarios to food waste reduction: seeking for consensus among food supply stakeholders," 148th Seminar, November 30-December 1, 2015, The Hague, The Netherlands 229266, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. René Audet & Éliane Brisebois, 2019. "The Social Production of Food Waste at the Retail-Consumption Interface," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-18, July.
    18. Massimiliano Cerciello, 2021. "Spatial patterns in food waste at the local level. A preliminary analysis for Italian data," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 83-101, February.
    19. Elżbieta Goryńska-Goldmann & Michał Gazdecki & Krystyna Rejman & Joanna Kobus-Cisowska & Sylwia Łaba & Robert Łaba, 2020. "How to Prevent Bread Losses in the Baking and Confectionery Industry?—Measurement, Causes, Management and Prevention," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-24, December.
    20. Pervin Ersoy & Gülmüş Börühan & Sachin Kumar Mangla & Jorge Hernandez Hormazabal & Yigit Kazancoglu & Çisem Lafcı, 2022. "Impact of information technology and knowledge sharing on circular food supply chains for green business growth," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1875-1904, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:6:p:2630-:d:1613712. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.