# 119-s-2541: Food Date Labeling Act of 2025

119-s-2541, Food Date Labeling Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2541
- As of: 2026-06-04
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2541
- Congress: 119
- Title: Food Date Labeling Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-07-30
- Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-06-04

## Summary

**Standardized date-label phrases** would create a single set of terms for when packaged foods start losing quality and when they should be discarded. The bill would also build a federal framework so the Agriculture and Health and Human Services leaders coordinate rules and outreach. - Families and shoppers would get clearer, consistent terms on packaging and federal consumer education explaining the difference between quality and discard dates within two years. - Food labelers and producers could choose whether to print quality or discard dates but would need to use the uniform phrases if they do; misbranding rules would cover poultry, meat, and egg products and final regulations are to be issued within two years. - States and localities could not impose different or extra date-label requirements and could not bar the sale or donation of food solely because of a discard date.

## Cosponsors (7)

- Sen. Scott, Rick [R-FL] (R-FL), 2025-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE), 2026-03-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2026-03-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-03-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD] (D-MD), 2026-03-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2026-03-17T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Stronger enforcement for bad date labels: benefit, high. If enacted, FDA and USDA could treat date labels that do not follow the rules as misbranded. That would let officials require fixes or remove noncompliant products from the market. The change would apply to foods and to meat, poultry, and egg products labeled two years after enactment.
- Private legal claims kept intact: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would not stop state or federal common-law claims or FTC remedies about date labels. People and businesses could still sue over misleading or harmful labels even where federal label rules apply.
- Federal rules and consumer outreach: mixed, high. If enacted, USDA and HHS would write joint final rules and consumer education on date labels within two years. Those rules would apply only to products labeled two years after enactment. The bill would also state that HHS could not use this law to force new quality or discard date labels beyond the…
- States barred from different date rules: mixed, high. If enacted, states and local governments could not require different or extra quality or discard date phrases covered by this law. States could not ban sale or donation because of a quality date. States could still ban sale or donation based on a discard date. States could set date-label rules only…
- Uniform food date label rules: mixed, high. If enacted, labelers who put dates on packaged food would have to use set phrases and a clear format. Dates would show month and year or month, day, and year, in an easy-to-read place. Small packages could use "BB" or "UB" instead of the full phrase. Labelers could add "or freeze by" and could use…

## Related bills

- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act

## Sources
- [119-s-2541 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2541)

## Related
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1032)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2541 (as of 2026-06-04).