# 119-hr-4987: Food Date Labeling Act of 2025

119-hr-4987, Food Date Labeling Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1] (D-ME); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4987
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-4987
- Congress: 119
- Title: Food Date Labeling Act of 2025
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-08-15
- Sponsor: Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1] (D-ME)
- Cosponsors: 10
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**A national system of standardized date labels** would make it easier to tell when food is about quality versus when it may no longer be safe. It defines "quality date phrases" and "discard date phrases" and would direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to write rules for their use. - Consumers and households. Would make it clearer when food is still wholesome but losing quality versus when it reaches the end of its estimated shelf life. Uniform phrases would include "BEST If Used By" for quality and "USE By" or the abbreviation "UB" for discard. - Food producers, retailers, and donors. Would let the labeler choose a quality date or a discard date, add "or freeze by," and use technologies like QR codes or smart labels. The bill preserves donation protections under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. - States and enforcement. Would let USDA and HHS issue final regulations within two years, expand misbranding rules to cover noncompliant date labels, and apply the labeling rules to foods labeled two years after enactment.

## Cosponsors (10)

- Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4] (R-WA), 2025-08-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] (D-NY), 2025-10-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Riley, Josh [D-NY-19] (D-NY), 2025-10-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9] (D-IL), 2025-10-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Casten, Sean [D-IL-6] (D-IL), 2025-10-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY), 2025-10-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI), 2025-10-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Frankel, Lois [D-FL-22] (D-FL), 2025-10-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bresnahan, Robert P. [R-PA-8] (R-PA), 2025-12-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2] (R-NJ), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Two-year rollout and agency rules: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would assign USDA to oversee meat, poultry, and egg labels and HHS to oversee other foods. The agencies would have to publish final rules not later than two years after enactment. The labeling requirements would apply only to packages labeled two years after enactment, giving b…
- New national food date labels: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would define two date types on food labels: quality dates and discard dates. Quality dates would use the uniform phrase "BEST If Used By" (or "BB" on very small packages). Discard dates would use "USE By" (or "UB" on very small packages). Dates must be easy to read and can show…
- State rules, remedies, and exceptions: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would bar states from requiring different or extra quality or discard date phrases on food labels. The bill would still let states or localities ban sale or donation of foods after a discard date. It would preserve state and federal common-law and FTC remedies for consumers and…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-hres-70: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains…
- 119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-4987 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4987)

## Related
- [119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1065)
- [119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2102)
- [119-hres-70: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should take…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-70)
- [119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2086)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4987 (as of 2026-09-21).