McLean, Va. – American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) President and CEO Alison Bodor issued the following statement today on AFFI joining the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Grocery Manufacturers Association’s (GMA) voluntary product code dating initiative.
“When it comes to food waste, we’ve all seen the statistics: 40 percent of the food produced in the United States each year is never eaten, amounting to about $162 billion lost every year.
“When you begin to dig deeper into these statistics, you find that consumer confusion over the meaning of labels may account for as much as 20 percent of consumer waste of safe, edible food.
“We already know that frozen food generates almost 50 percent less waste when compared to ambient and chilled food consumed in the home, yet there is more that our industry can do. That’s why AFFI is joining FMI and GMA’s voluntary product code dating initiative. AFFI’s support of the “BEST If Used By” language to indicate best product quality for frozen foods will help facilitate consumer understanding of date labeling and lessen food waste.”