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PRESIDENT’ S MESSAGE
N J L awmak e r s F i dd l e W i t h On e r o u s
f o od dat e l ab e l i ng P r o p o s a l
LINDA DOHERTY
PRESIDENT
NEW JERSEY FOOD COUNCIL
While we understand the intent of the
legislation to simplify date labeling, we
are very concerned that such a bill could
inadvertently harm the grocery industry’s
continued efforts to solve this problem
comprehensively on the national level.
As multi-state operators, NJFC members
are concerned that reforming the date
labeling process on a state-by-state basis
would make it extremely difficult and
costly for members to comply with each
of the various state laws with different
definitions and standards, particularly
because manufacturers often do not
control what state each individual package
is sent to once it is taken by a distributor.
This could lead to New Jersey labeled
products finding a way into other states,
and non-New Jersey compliant labels
ending up in our state through no fault of
the suppliers. This would unnecessarily
open members up to thousands of dollars
in fines and create great confusion in the
supply chain.
These different standards also undermine
labeling consistency, confuse consumers,
and raise the costs of food.
NJFC members and the food industry
at large remain committed to reducing
food waste nationally and to accomplish
that goal our national partners at the
Food Marketing Institute (FMI) formed
the Food Waste Reduction Alliance in
2011 with the Grocery Manufacturers
Association (GMA) and the National
Restaurant Association.
This landmark, cross-industry initiative
includes more than 30 manufacturing,
retailing and foodservice companies,
along with expert partners from the
anti-hunger community and waste
management sector.
As part of their larger work to reduce
food waste, FMI and GMA recently
announced that their members would be
implementing a voluntary standardized
and simplified label prior to the summer
of 2018.
This voluntary action by the industry will
eventually lead to only two standard labels
which can be clearly understood by the
consumer and we hope that will translate
to consumers wasting less food.
While some amendments were approved
in Committee, we believe the bill will stall
and allow the industry to solve the issue in
a comprehensive and reasonable manner
without government intervention. At least
that’s what we hope for.
This spring, the state senate environment committee
quickly passed legislation that establishes a New
Jersey only standard for food labeling.
“These different standards also
undermine labeling consistency, confuse
consumers and raise the costs of food.”
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NEW JERSEY GROCER |