[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19797]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           FOOD RECOVERY ACT

  (Ms. PINGREE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Speaker, every day in kitchens across the country, 
someone pulls a can of soup right out of their cupboard or a box of 
pasta off the shelf. They look at the ``best by'' date on the package, 
and then they try to decide whether to throw it out or not. Is the food 
no good because it is past the date, or does it still have weeks or 
even years of shelf life left?
  Too often perfectly good food gets thrown out, contributing to the 40 
percent of all food that is wasted every year in this country. Much of 
it ends up in a landfill, where it produces methane, a potent 
greenhouse gas.
  Currently, Mr. Speaker, there is no standard for date labeling, which 
is one reason I have introduced the Food Recovery Act this week. My 
bill has nearly two dozen proposals to reduce food waste, including a 
provision that would require manufacturers who do put a date on their 
food to include the words ``manufacturer's suggestion only.'' It 
doesn't mean that the food is bad just because the date has gone by.
  Mr. Speaker, if we cut food waste by just 15 percent and direct the 
food that would be wasted to those in need, we can reduce the number of 
Americans struggling with hunger by one-half. I urge my colleagues to 
join me to help reduce food waste in the United States.

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