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H.R. 4987: Food Date Labeling Act of 2025
119th Congress · introduced 2025-08-15 · Agriculture and Food · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture.
federal
Official title
Food Date Labeling Act of 2025
Plain summary
Food Date Labeling Act of 2025 This bill establishes uniform requirements for quality and discard date phrases (e.g., best by and use by ) placed voluntarily on food labels. Specifically, if a food is labeled with a quality date (i.e., the date after which the quality of the item may deteriorate), the label must include the phrase BEST If Used By or the abbreviation BB . Similarly, if a food is labeled with a discard date (i.e., the date after which the item should not be consumed), the label must include the phrase USE By or the abbreviation UB . Abbreviations may be used only if an item’s packaging is too small to fit the full phrase. Quality and discard dates must be written in a single, easy-to-read font and placed in a prominent location on an item’s label or package. The phrase or freeze by may be added after a quality or discard date phrase where appropriate. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) must promulgate regulations to carry out these provisions and ensure that the uniform phrases are standardized across all food products. HHS and USDA may specify alternative quality and discard date phrases through regulations. The bill specifies that no state or local government may enforce a requirement related to quality and discard date phrases that differs from the requirements of the bill. The bill does not apply to infant formula, which is subject to separate labeling requirements under current law.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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Official text
Food Date Labeling Act of 2025
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
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Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1] · 10 cosponsors
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Words on this page, explained (2)
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- Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
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Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-119hr4987.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/hr>
Record fed-us-cong119-hr4987 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong119 · updated 2026-11-03 by psicol fed-bills