Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H2205 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 211 FILED ON: 1/11/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2205
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Hannah Kane
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act decreasing food waste by standardizing the date labeling of food.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Hannah Kane11th Worcester1/10/2023Mindy Domb3rd Hampshire1/18/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/24/2023Patricia A. Duffy5th Hampden1/26/2023Margaret R. Scarsdale1st Middlesex1/26/2023Kathleen R. LaNatra12th Plymouth1/26/2023Kimberly N. Ferguson1st Worcester1/26/2023Angelo L. D'Emilia8th Plymouth2/2/2023David Allen Robertson19th Middlesex2/6/2023Susannah M. Whipps2nd Franklin2/8/2023Paul McMurtry11th Norfolk2/15/2023Colleen M. Garry36th Middlesex2/16/2023Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester3/14/2023Michael O. MooreSecond Worcester3/15/2023 1 of 4
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 211 FILED ON: 1/11/2023
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2205
18	18	By Representative Kane of Shrewsbury, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2205) of
19	19	Hannah Kane and others relative to date labels on food packaging of products. Public Health.
20	20	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
21	21	SEE HOUSE, NO. 2327 OF 2021-2022.]
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
25	25	(2023-2024)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act decreasing food waste by standardizing the date labeling of food.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 94 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition,
31	31	2is hereby amended by inserting after section 329 the following new section:-
32	32	3 Section 330. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context
33	33	4clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
34	34	5 “Commissioner”, the commissioner of public health.
35	35	6 “Food labeler”, the producer, manufacturer, distributor, or retailer that places a date label
36	36	7on food packaging of a product. 2 of 4
37	37	8 “Quality date”, a date voluntarily printed on food packaging that is intended to
38	38	9communicate to consumers the date after which the quality of the product may begin to
39	39	10deteriorate, even as the product may still be acceptable for consumption.
40	40	11 “Ready-to-eat product”, with respect to a product under the federal jurisdiction of the
41	41	12U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, a product that is in a form that is edible without additional
42	42	13preparation to achieve food safety and may receive additional preparation for palatability or
43	43	14aesthetic, epicurean, gastronomic, or culinary purposes and is a poultry product, as defined in
44	44	15section 4 of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 453), a meat food product, as defined
45	45	16in section 1 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601), or an egg product, as defined in
46	46	17section 4 of the Egg Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1033). With respect to a food (as
47	47	18defined in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321)) under the
48	48	19federal jurisdiction of the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, a food that is normally
49	49	20eaten in its raw state or any other food, including a processed food, for which it is reasonably
50	50	21foreseeable that the food will be eaten without further processing that would significantly
51	51	22minimize biological hazards.
52	52	23 “Safety date”, a date printed on food packaging of a ready-to-eat product, which signifies
53	53	24the end of the estimated period of shelf life under any stated storage conditions, after which the
54	54	25product may pose a health safety risk.
55	55	26 (b) If a food labeler includes a quality date on food packaging, the label shall use the
56	56	27uniform quality date label phrase “best if used by”, unless and until the commissioner specifies
57	57	28through rulemaking another uniform phrase to be used. The decision to include a quality date on
58	58	29food packaging shall be at the discretion of the food labeler. 3 of 4
59	59	30 (c) The label of a ready-to-eat product shall include a safety date that is immediately
60	60	31preceded by the uniform safety date label phrase “expires on”, unless and until the commissioner
61	61	32specifies through rulemaking another uniform phrase to be used, if the ready-to-eat product: (1)
62	62	33meets the criteria described in subsection (d) and is not exempt under paragraph (2) of subsection
63	63	34(e); or (2) is listed in accordance with paragraph (1) of subsection (e).
64	64	35 (d) The commissioner shall describe criteria that determine what ready-to-eat products
65	65	36may have a high level of risk associated with consumption after a certain date, including those
66	66	37that may be high or very high risk for Listeria monocytogenes or other contaminants or
67	67	38pathogens causing foodborne illness.
68	68	39 (e) The commissioner may, with respect to the products under the commissioner’s
69	69	40jurisdiction: (1) list additional ready-to-eat products that are high risk, but do not meet the
70	70	41criteria described in subsection (f); or (2) exempt specific ready-to-eat products that meet the
71	71	42criteria described in subsection (f), but do not actually pose a high level of risk associated with
72	72	43consumption after a certain date.
73	73	44 (f) Not less than once every 4 years, the commissioner shall review and, as the
74	74	45commissioner determines appropriate, shall update: (1) the criteria described in subsection (f);
75	75	46and (2) the list and exemptions described in subsection (g).
76	76	47 (g) The quality date and safety date and immediately adjacent uniform quality date label
77	77	48phrase or safety date label phrase shall be: (1) in single easy-to-read type style using upper and
78	78	49lower case letters in the standard form; (2) located in a conspicuous place on the package of the
79	79	50food; and (3) where applicable, stated in terms of day and month and, as appropriate, year. 4 of 4
80	80	51 (h) The commissioner shall establish guidance for food labelers on how to determine
81	81	52quality dates and safety dates for food products. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
82	82	53of this act, the commissioner shall provide consumer education and outreach on the meaning of
83	83	54quality date and safety date food labels.
84	84	55 (i) No one shall prohibit the sale, donation, or use of any product after the quality date for
85	85	56the product has passed, but nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any one from
86	86	57establishing or continuing in effect any requirement that prohibits the sale or donation of foods
87	87	58based on passage of the safety date. Only safety-based restrictions may be imposed on the sale,
88	88	59donation, or use of any product after the quality date has passed. No one shall establish or
89	89	60continue in effect any requirement that relates to the inclusion in food labeling of a quality date
90	90	61or a safety date that is different from or in addition to, or that is otherwise not identical with, the
91	91	62requirements under this section.
92	92	63 (j) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit or restrict the use of time-
93	93	64temperature indicator labels or similar technology that is consistent with the requirements of this
94	94	65section.
95	95	66 (k) This section shall apply only with respect to food products that are labeled on or after
96	96	67a date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this act.
97	97	68 SECTION 2. Section 187 of chapter 94 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016
98	98	69Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the twenty-seventh paragraph the
99	99	70following paragraph:-
100	100	71 “Fifteenth, if it does not bear a label in accordance with section 330 of this chapter.”