HR 4987

119th Congress

Food

Consumer Protection

Agriculture

Food Date Labeling Act of 2025

Sponsor: Chellie Pingree (Democratic-ME)August 15, 2025

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Requires clearer food date labels to help shoppers understand food freshness.

This bill would make food date labels easier to understand for shoppers across the country. It sets standard phrases like "BEST If Used By" for quality and "USE By" for safety on voluntary dates on food packages. This aims to reduce confusion and help people make better decisions about food safety and waste.

What Would Change

Today, there are no standard phrases for "best by" or "use by" dates on food, leading to confusion among shoppers and varied state laws. After this bill, if companies choose to put dates on food, they would have to use "BEST If Used By" for quality and "USE By" for safety, with clear display rules, and consumers would receive education on their meaning. States would also be prevented from setting different labeling rules for these dates.

Key Provisions

Requires food labels to use "BEST If Used By" for voluntary quality dates.
Requires food labels to use "USE By" for voluntary discard dates.
Mandates that all quality and discard date labels be easy to read and clearly placed.
Directs federal agencies to educate consumers on what these date labels mean within two years of the bill becoming law.
Prevents states from creating different or additional food date labeling rules for quality or discard dates.
Classifies food with non-standard quality or discard date labels as misbranded under federal law.

View on Congress.gov

HR 4987 · 119th Congress · August 15, 2025 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 8/10

Lobbying Activity

6 filings mentioned this bill

Top Lobbying Clients

MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL, INC.

$30K

1 filing

CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST

1 filing

FOOD MARKETPLACE INC

2 filings

WORLD WILDLIFE FUND, INC.

1 filing

UNILEVER UNITED STATES, INC.

1 filing

Top Lobbying Firms

1.FOOD MARKETPLACE INC.2 filings

2.CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST1 filing

3.WORLD WILDLIFE FUND, INC.1 filing

4.UNILEVER UNITED STATES, INC.1 filing

5.THE SMITH-FREE GROUP, LLC1 filing

Amounts reflect total quarterly lobbying spend reported to the Senate, not bill-specific spending. Source: Senate LDA filings.

6 filings mentioned this bill

Top Lobbying Clients

MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL, INC.

$30K

1 filing

CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST

1 filing

FOOD MARKETPLACE INC

2 filings

WORLD WILDLIFE FUND, INC.

1 filing

UNILEVER UNITED STATES, INC.

1 filing

Top Lobbying Firms

1.FOOD MARKETPLACE INC.2 filings

2.CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST1 filing

3.WORLD WILDLIFE FUND, INC.1 filing

4.UNILEVER UNITED STATES, INC.1 filing

5.THE SMITH-FREE GROUP, LLC1 filing

Amounts reflect total quarterly lobbying spend reported to the Senate, not bill-specific spending. Source: Senate LDA filings.