What does Preamble of S 2541 do?

This bill aims to establish requirements for quality and discard date phrases that are voluntarily declared on food labels. The bill's stated purpose is to regulate the display of calendar dates on food labels when these dates are voluntarily declared.

What does SHORT TITLE. of S 2541 do?

This bill is formally titled the Food Date Labeling Act of 2025.

What does DEFINITIONS. of S 2541 do?

This section defines terms used within the Act. “Administering Secretaries” refers to the Secretary of Agriculture for certain agricultural products and the Secretary of Health and Human Services for other products. The Secretary of Agriculture's jurisdiction includes poultry products, meat food products, and egg products. The Secretary of Health and Human Services' jurisdiction includes food as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. “Discard date phrase” means a phrase indicating when a product should not be consumed. “Quality date phrase” means a phrase indicating when a product's quality may begin to deteriorate, but the product remains wholesome.

What does QUALITY DATE PHRASES AND DISCARD DATE PHRASES. of S 2541 do?

This section establishes uniform phrases for quality and discard dates on food packages, initially 'BEST If Used By' and 'USE By', respectively. The administering Secretaries may, through rulemaking, specify alternative uniform phrases. The decision to include quality or discard dates, and which foods to label, is at the discretion of the entity responsible for the food label. Dates must be displayed in a single, easy-to-read style in a conspicuous place on the package. Abbreviations 'BB' and 'UB' may be used if the packaging is too small to include the full phrase. The use of technologies like QR codes and time-temperature indicators is permitted alongside the uniform phrases. Entities responsible for food labels may add 'or freeze by' to quality or discard dates. The administering Secretaries must provide consumer education on quality and discard date phrases within two years of enactment. States can continue to prohibit the sale or donation of food after the discard date. This section does not apply to infant formula and does not affect existing requirements for it. States may not establish requirements for quality or discard date phrases that differ from those specified in this Act.

What does MISBRANDING. of S 2541 do?

This section amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to include failure to comply with the Food Date Labeling Act of 2025 as a form of misbranding. The Poultry Products Inspection Act is amended to include labeling violations of the Food Date Labeling Act of 2025 as a factor in determining misbranding. The Federal Meat Inspection Act is amended to include labeling violations of the Food Date Labeling Act of 2025 as a factor in determining misbranding. The Egg Products Inspection Act is amended to include labeling violations of the Food Date Labeling Act of 2025 as a factor in determining misbranding.

What does REGULATIONS. of S 2541 do?

This section requires the administering Secretaries to promulgate final regulations. The regulations are intended to carry out the provisions of this Act. The regulations must be promulgated within two years of the Act's enactment.

What does DELAYED APPLICABILITY. of S 2541 do?

This Act's provisions apply to food products labeled on or after two years following the Act's enactment. The amendments made by this Act also have the same delayed applicability.

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Food Date Labeling Act of 2025 — S. 2541

Last updated: 7/30/2025 · Introduced: 7/30/2025

Author: Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)

TL;DR (AI)

This bill establishes 'BEST If Used By' and 'USE By' as standard phrases for quality and discard dates on food labels, allowing for abbreviations or alternative phrases through future rulemaking.
The bill amends existing food safety laws (Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Poultry Products Inspection Act, Federal Meat Inspection Act, and Egg Products Inspection Act) to consider violations of this Act as misbranding.
States can maintain prohibitions on selling or donating food past discard dates, but may not create conflicting date labeling requirements.

119th Congressin committeeOfficial page

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Includes provisions on preamble, short title., and 5 more.

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