Canadians often blame grocery stores, food manufacturers, or governments for food waste. Yet much of the waste occurs in our own kitchens, often for one simple reason: we misunderstand food date labels.
New survey data from the Agri-Food Analytics Lab, in partnership with Caddle, based on responses from 3,000 Canadians, reveal that the vast majority of households continue to throw away food once it passes its use-by date. While only 11 per cent of Canadians say they always discard food after the date has passed, another 20 per cent do so often, and 37 per cent do so sometimes. In other words, nearly seven in ten Canadians allow date labels to influence their decision to dispose of food.
The findings expose a costly and largely preventable problem. What is perhaps most surprising is the generational divide.
Generation Z, often criticized for many things, appears to be the least wasteful cohort when it comes to date labels. Only 6.1 per cent say they always throw away food after the use-by date, compared with 15.6 per cent of Generation X. More than one-third of Gen Z respondents say they rarely or never discard food solely because of a date label.
Generation X, meanwhile, emerges as Canada’s most cautious generation. Nearly 40 per cent say they always or often throw away food once the date has passed.
At first glance, this may seem counterintuitive. One might expect older Canadians to be more conservative and younger Canadians to be more prone to waste. The opposite appears to be true.
The explanation likely lies in a combination of economics, experience, and risk perception.
Younger Canadians are facing unprecedented affordability challenges. High housing costs, student debt, stagnant wage growth, and rising food prices have forced many to extract maximum value from every grocery purchase. They are also more likely to have been exposed to sustainability campaigns and food waste education efforts, which often emphasize that many date labels are indicators of quality, not safety.
Generation X sees things differently. Many are caring for both children and aging parents. For them, the consequences of serving food that might be unsafe outweigh the cost of replacing it. They also came of age during decades marked by heightened concerns over foodborne illnesses, recalls, and public health warnings. As a result, they may be more inclined to treat date labels as hard safety limits rather than guidelines.
The reality is that much of this food never needed to be thrown away.
Canada’s food labeling system remains poorly understood. Many consumers confuse “best before” dates with food safety indicators. In most cases, these dates are intended to signal peak quality, not spoilage. Yet countless products end up in the garbage because consumers view the date as a definitive expiration point.
This confusion carries real consequences.
Food waste is not merely an environmental issue. It is an affordability issue. Every carton of yogurt, loaf of bread, package of cheese, or container of leftovers thrown away unnecessarily represents money lost. At a time when nearly one-quarter of Canadian households experience some level of food insecurity, reducing avoidable waste should be a national priority.
The environmental costs are equally significant. Wasted food means wasted water, wasted energy, wasted labour, wasted transportation, and unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions. Few Canadians realize that household food waste is one of the largest contributors to food-system inefficiency.
The good news is that this problem is largely solvable.
Governments do not need billion-dollar programs to address it. What is needed is a serious effort to improve food literacy. Consumers need clearer guidance on date labels, food storage practices, and how to assess food quality using common sense. Retailers and manufacturers can also play a role by simplifying labels and providing more practical information to shoppers.
The survey suggests that younger Canadians may already be moving in this direction. If so, they may have something to teach the rest of us.
The next time you reach for a product that has just passed its date, ask yourself a simple question: Is the food actually unsafe, or am I simply reacting to a number printed on a package?
The answer could save Canadians millions of dollars and keep a great deal of perfectly edible food out of landfills.
