Amended  IN  Senate  June 17, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Joint Resolution
No. 10

Introduced by Assembly Member Irwin
(Coauthor: Senator Rubio)

August 24, 2023

Relative to food date labeling.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AJR 10, as amended, Irwin. Food date labeling.
This bill measure would urge the President and Congress of the United States to enact the federal Food Date Labeling Act of 2023.
Fiscal Committee: NO  
WHEREAS, Over one-third of food in the United States is never eaten; and
WHEREAS, Uneaten food wastes agricultural land, water, chemicals, and energy; and
WHEREAS, Food and organic material is are the most common material that ends materials that end up in landfills and are incinerated in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Managing wasted food costs the United States $444 billion each year; and
WHEREAS, Food loss and food waste represent 8 percent of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions; and
WHEREAS, California’s short-lived climate pollutant strategy targets reductions in organic waste disposal and increased rescue of surplus food for people to eat in order to cut the state’s methane production; and
WHEREAS, The United States has a goal to halve the amount of food loss and food waste in the country by 2030; and
WHEREAS, Consumer confusion about the meaning of date labels on food is a leading cause of wasted food; and
WHEREAS, Standardizing date labels on food has the potential to divert 800,000 tons of food waste from landfills and incineration each year; and
WHEREAS, Standardizing date labels on food would have a net financial benefit of $3.55 billion in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Key food brands and industry associations have voluntarily adopted streamlined date labeling phrases on food; and
WHEREAS, California enacted the voluntary date labeling on food standard in 2017 with Assembly Bill 954; and
WHEREAS, The federal Food Date Labeling Act of 2023 is a bill designed to end consumer confusion around food date labeling by standardizing date labels on food products to ensure usable food is not thrown away; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature urges the President and Congress of the United States to enact the federal Food Date Labeling Act of 2023; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature commends all public and private efforts to address consumer confusion over date labels on food, food but recognizes that efforts must be accelerated to ensure that food in this country is not wasted; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmits copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.