[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2947 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2947

 To establish requirements regarding quality dates and safety dates in 
                 food labeling, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 18, 2016

Mr. Blumenthal introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish requirements regarding quality dates and safety dates in 
                 food labeling, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Food Date Labeling Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) As of the date of enactment of this Act, date labeling 
        practices on food packaging cause confusion with ``sell-by'', 
        ``best-by'', ``use-by'', and ``best before'' dates, leading up 
        to 90 percent of individuals in the United States to 
        occasionally throw out still-fresh food.
            (2) Confusion over the meaning of date labels is estimated 
        to account for 20 percent of consumer waste of safe, edible 
        food, leading to approximately $29,000,000,000 of wasted 
        consumer spending each year.
            (3) Consumer education and standardized date labeling are 
        the top 2 most cost-effective strategies for reducing food 
        waste, by economic value per ton diverted.
            (4) Wasted food costs consumers and industry money, 
        squanders important natural resources that are used to grow, 
        process, distribute, and store the food supply of the United 
        States, and represents a missed opportunity to feed the 
        millions of food insecure households in the United States that 
        are struggling to access healthy, affordable food.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administering secretaries.--The term ``administering 
        Secretaries'' means--
                    (A) with respect to products described in paragraph 
                (4)(A), the Secretary of Agriculture; and
                    (B) with respect to products described in paragraph 
                (4)(B), the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
            (2) Food labeler.--The term ``food labeler'' means the 
        producer, manufacturer, distributor, or retailer that places a 
        date label on food packaging of a product.
            (3) Quality date.--The term ``quality date'' means a date 
        voluntarily printed on food packaging that is intended to 
        communicate to consumers the date after which the quality of 
        the product may begin to deteriorate, but may still be 
        acceptable for consumption.
            (4) Ready-to-eat product.--The term ``ready-to-eat 
        product'' means--
                    (A) with respect to a product under the 
                jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, a product 
                that--
                            (i) is in a form that is edible without 
                        additional preparation to achieve food safety 
                        and may receive additional preparation for 
                        palatability or aesthetic, epicurean, 
                        gastronomic, or culinary purposes; and
                            (ii) is--
                                    (I) a poultry product, as defined 
                                in section 4 of the Poultry Products 
                                Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 453);
                                    (II) a meat food product, as 
                                defined in section 1 of the Federal 
                                Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601); or
                                    (III) an egg product, as defined in 
                                section 4 of the Egg Products 
                                Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1033); and
                    (B) with respect to a food (as defined in section 
                201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
                U.S.C. 321)) under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of 
                Health and Human Services--
                            (i) a food that is normally eaten in its 
                        raw state; or
                            (ii) any other food, including a processed 
                        food, for which it is reasonably foreseeable 
                        that the food will be eaten without further 
                        processing that would significantly minimize 
                        biological hazards.
            (5) Safety date.--The term ``safety date'' means a date 
        printed on food packaging of a ready-to-eat product, which 
        signifies the end of the estimated period of shelf life under 
        any stated storage conditions, after which the product may pose 
        a health safety risk.

SEC. 4. QUALITY DATES AND SAFETY DATES.

    (a) Quality Dates.--
            (1) In general.--If a food labeler includes a quality date 
        on food packaging, the label shall use the uniform quality date 
        label phrase under paragraph (2).
            (2) Uniform phrase.--The uniform quality date label phrase 
        under this paragraph shall be ``best if used by'', unless and 
        until the administering Secretaries, acting jointly, specify 
        through rulemaking another uniform phrase to be used for 
        purposes of complying with paragraph (1).
            (3) Option of the labeler.--The decision to include a 
        quality date on food packaging shall be at the discretion of 
        the food labeler.
    (b) Safety Dates.--
            (1) In general.--The label of a ready-to-eat product shall 
        include a safety date that is immediately preceded by the 
        uniform safety date label phrase under paragraph (2) if the 
        ready-to-eat product--
                    (A) meets the criteria described in paragraph 
                (3)(A) and is not exempt under paragraph (3)(B)(ii); or
                    (B) is listed in accordance with paragraph 
                (3)(B)(i).
            (2) Uniform phrase.--The uniform safety date label phrase 
        under this paragraph shall be `expires on', unless and until 
        the administering Secretaries jointly specify through 
        rulemaking another uniform phrase to be used for purposes of 
        complying with paragraph (1).
            (3) High-risk ready-to-eat products.--
                    (A) In general.--The administering Secretaries, 
                acting jointly, shall describe criteria that determine 
                what ready-to-eat products may have a high level of 
                risk associated with consumption after a certain date, 
                including those that may be high or very high risk for 
                Listeria monocytogenes or other contaminants or 
                pathogens causing foodborne illness.
                    (B) Additional foods; exempt foods.--The 
                administering Secretaries may, with respect to the 
                products under the jurisdiction of the administering 
                Secretaries, respectively--
                            (i) list additional ready-to-eat products 
                        that are high risk, but do not meet the 
                        criteria described in subparagraph (A); or
                            (ii) exempt specific ready-to-eat products 
                        that meet the criteria described in 
                        subparagraph (A), but do not actually pose a 
                        high level of risk associated with consumption 
                        after a certain date.
                    (C) Review and updates.--Not less than once every 4 
                years, the administering Secretaries, acting jointly, 
                shall review and, as the administering Secretaries 
                determine appropriate, shall update--
                            (i) the criteria described in subparagraph 
                        (A); and
                            (ii) the list and exemptions described in 
                        subparagraph (B).
    (c) Quality Date and Safety Date Labeling.--
            (1) In general.--The quality date and safety date, as 
        applicable, and immediately adjacent uniform quality date label 
        phrase or safety date label phrase shall be--
                    (A) in single easy-to-read type style using upper 
                and lower case letters in the standard form;
                    (B) in a type size no smaller than 8 point; and
                    (C) located in a conspicuous place on the package 
                of the food.
            (2) Date format.--Each quality date and safety date shall 
        be stated in terms of day and month and, as appropriate, year.
    (d) Guidance.--The Commissioner of Food and Drugs and the Secretary 
of Agriculture shall establish guidance for food labelers on how to 
determine quality dates and safety dates for food products.
    (e) Sale or Donation After Quality Date.--No one shall prohibit the 
sale, donation, or use of any product after the quality date for the 
product has passed.
    (f) Education.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the administering Secretaries, acting jointly, shall 
provide consumer education and outreach on the meaning of quality date 
and safety date food labels.
    (g) Rule of Construction; Preemption.--
            (1) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
        construed to prohibit any State or political subdivision of a 
        State from establishing or continuing in effect any requirement 
        that prohibits the sale or donation of foods based on passage 
        of the safety date.
            (2) Preemption.--No State or political subdivision of a 
        State may establish or continue in effect any requirement 
        that--
                    (A) relates to the inclusion in food labeling of a 
                quality date or a safety date that is different from or 
                in addition to, or that is otherwise not identical 
                with, the requirements under this section; or
                    (B) prohibits the sale or donation of foods based 
                on passage of the quality date.
            (3) Enforcement.--The administering Secretaries, acting 
        jointly and in coordination with the Federal Trade Commission, 
        shall ensure that the uniform quality date label phrase and 
        uniform safety date label phrase are standardized across all 
        food products.
            (4) Savings.--Nothing in this Act, nor any amendment made 
        by this Act, nor any standard or requirement imposed pursuant 
        to this Act shall be construed to preempt, displace, or 
        supplant any State or Federal common law rights or any State or 
        Federal statute creating a remedy for civil relief, including 
        those for civil damage, or a penalty for criminal conduct.
    (h) Time Temperature Indicator Labels.--Nothing in this section 
shall be construed to prohibit or restrict the use of time-temperature 
indicator labels or similar technology that is consistent with the 
requirements of this Act.
    (i) Delayed Applicability.--This section shall apply only with 
respect to food products that are labeled on or after a date that is 2 
years after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. MISBRANDING VIOLATION FOR QUALITY DATES AND SAFETY DATES IN 
              FOOD LABELING.

    (a) FDA Violations.--Section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(z) if its labeling is in violation of section 4 of the Food Date 
Labeling Act of 2016 (relating to quality dates and safety dates).''.
    (b) Poultry Products.--Section 4(h) of the Poultry Products 
Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 453(h)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(13) if it does not bear a label in accordance with 
        section 4 of the Food Date Labeling Act of 2016.''.
    (c) Meat Products.--Section 1(n) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act 
(21 U.S.C. 601(n)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(13) if it does not bear a label in accordance with 
        section 4 of the Food Date Labeling Act of 2016.''.
    (d) Egg Products.--Section 7(b) of the Egg Products Inspection Act 
(21 U.S.C. 1036(b)) is amended in the first sentence by adding before 
the period at the end ``or if it does not bear a label in accordance 
with section 4 of the Food Date Labeling Act of 2016''.

SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
administering Secretaries, acting jointly, shall report to the 
appropriate committees of Congress on the progress in the reduction of 
food waste that can be attributed to the standardization of food date 
labeling and consumer education required by this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act.
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