An Analysis of How Consumers Use Best-if-Used-By Dates As a Cue for Evaluating Food Products

Food waste is a significant problem in the United States with over 133 billion pounds of food that goes unused or neglected by consumers every year. Consumers use best-if-used-by dates (BUBDs) as a cue in evaluating food and deciding when to throw away food. Using an experimental sensory approach, 183 consumers evaluated the appearance and taste of salads and lunch meat with varying BUBDs. After completing sensory evaluations, participants were then asked to state their willingness to pay (WTP) for each of the varying BUBDs and the percentage of the food product their household would consume, based on their recent consumption habits and its associated BUBD. On average, consumers were willing to pay $0.76 to $1.38 per bag for the varying bagged salads and $1.78 to $2.31 per package for the varying lunch meats. Consumers stated their household would consume on average 57 to 75% of the varying bagged salads and 67 to 75% of the varying lunch meats. Tobit regressions were used to examine factors influencing WTP and household expected consumption of the food products. BUBDs and taste and appearance ratings were significant in determining bagged salad and lunch meat WTP and anticipated consumption. The bagged salad lunch meat nearby and middle BUBDs were discounted significantly when compared to the furthest away BUBD. The furthest away BUBDs increased anticipated consumption compared to the nearby BUBDs. As consumers rated the taste and appearance of the salads and lunch meat higher, they stated they would consume more of the food products. Results provide insight into how BUBDs and sensory evaluation of foods influence expected food waste of lunch meat and salads. Sensory evaluations are preferred to BUBDs to evaluate food; however, consumers will use BUBDs when sensory evaluations are not available.