[Reporter’s Notebook] Now Is the Right Time to Introduce the Consumption Date Labeling System

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] With the significant increase in food consumption at home due to COVID-19, the social cost of food discarded or returned due to expired shelf life is approaching 2 trillion KRW annually. The frequent disposal of perfectly good ingredients and processed foods has made the introduction of a consumption date labeling system a pressing issue of our time.

According to a Ministry of Environment survey last year, 2 trillion KRW was spent annually just on food waste disposal. The amount of food waste averaged 14,477 tons. Of this, 65% was discarded in a fully processed state before consumption.

The shelf life indicates the period during which a product can be sold, which differs from the consumption date that indicates the period during which the food is safe to eat. Discussions to replace or jointly mark the shelf life with the consumption date have been ongoing every year but have failed. Last year, authorities attempted to introduce the ‘consumption date labeling system’ in 2023, but it was once again blocked in the National Assembly.

This resistance comes from the food industry. Applying a consumption date longer than the shelf life increases manufacturers’ liability if problems arise with the food. Furthermore, if discarded food decreases, it could directly impact food companies’ sales, leading to opposition.

The food industry is competitively promoting eco-friendly policies to reduce plastic under ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management. If the consumption date labeling system leads to proper consumption and reduces unnecessary production, it could achieve greater results than the industry’s efforts to invest tens to hundreds of billions of KRW annually to reduce plastic waste.

Every day, an average of 5 lunchbox products and 10 dairy products are discarded due to expired shelf life at over 45,000 convenience stores nationwide. Each convenience store is producing hundreds of thousands of products daily that end up as food waste and plastic waste without being consumed.

Many countries, including those in Europe, have already adopted the consumption date system. With the rapid increase in sales of single-serving small-portion foods due to COVID-19, the introduction of the consumption date labeling system should be actively considered.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.