Overcoming Misconceptions: Enhancing Consumer Understanding of Date Labels to Reduce Food Waste

ABSTRACT This study examines how date‐labeling formats and information disclosure shape Chinese online consumers' food‐waste behavior, using a vignette experiment with 1122 respondents analyzed across three products (fresh milk, chips, nuts). The longer a product has been past its labeled date, the less willing consumers are to consume it: relative to long‐expired items, just‐expired milk, chips, and nuts are 41%, 126%, and 93% more likely to be consumed, respectively. For milk, a direct date label lowers the odds of consumption by 27% relative to an indirect label (odds ratio = 0.73, p < 0.01), whereas format has no effect for chips and nuts. After providing the definition of date labels in the survey, the mean likelihood of consuming all types of food increased across all scenarios. For milk, the direct‐label group experienced a larger increase in consumption willingness after the intervention, thereby eliminating the difference attributable to label format (the difference between indirect and direct labeling fell from 0.207 ( p = 0.007) to a nonsignificant 0.023 ( p = 0.778)). Therefore, we recommend adding explanatory text on packaging and continuously carrying out consumer education and awareness campaigns to help consumers distinguish between “end of guaranteed quality” and “food safety boundary.” In addition, these efforts should be complemented by technologies that extend the shelf life of perishable products.