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H 3407

Food and Beverage Labels

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Bill Chumley and 1 co-sponsor

Standardizes consumer date labels (quality and safety dates) and requires HACCP controls for reduced-oxygen packaging to prevent botulism, effective after June 30, 2026.

Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
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Bill Summary · H 3407

Summary — H 3407: “Food and Beverage Labels”

Note on source material
- The provided file contains two different and conflicting texts: (1) a short Massachusetts bill designating an “official jazz song,” and (2) a detailed South Carolina-style statutory amendment on food and beverage labeling (adding S.C. Code §39-25-220). The legislative action history in the file corresponds to a Massachusetts House bill. This summary focuses on the substantive food-and-beverage labeling provisions included in the text provided, and explains the discrepancy. Verify the official bill text with the chamber or clerk before taking regulatory or compliance action.

Purpose and intent
- Establish uniform consumer-facing date labeling terminology and labeling rules for certain milk products and prepared packaged foods, and set safety controls and labeling requirements for foods packaged using reduced-oxygen packaging methods (to address botulism risks). The stated objective is to reduce consumer confusion about date labels and improve food safety labeling practices.

Key provisions (summary)
- Milk and milk products (A)
- Retail-packaged “market milk,” “market cream,” and milk products legally required to be from market milk must display a processor-established quality date at the time of sale.
- Exemptions: milk processed/packaged and sold directly by distributors to consumers; bulk shipments between distributors.
- The relevant commissioner must adopt regulations (after public hearings) on who affixes dates and the format/location of the date.

  • Uniform date-label terminology (B) — effective for foods manufactured after June 30, 2026:

    • Required terms:
    • Quality date: “BEST if Used by” or “BEST if Used or Frozen by” (or “BB” for very small items or beverages).
    • Safety date: “USE by” or “USE by or Freeze by” (or “UB” if too small to include full phrase).
    • Prohibitions:
    • After June 30, 2026, cannot sell foods manufactured after that date that display date labels not using the required terms.
    • Use of the phrase “sell by” on consumer-facing labels is prohibited (coded “sell by” formats that are not consumer-readable are allowed).
    • Education: the department may accept nonstate funds to educate consumers online about date meanings.
    • Carve-outs & clarifications:
    • Does not prohibit selling/donating foods after quality dates (i.e., “BEST if Used by” does not mandate disposal).
    • Does not force date labels on items that don’t already have them.
    • Grocery stores may show “packed on” dates for prepared foods if the required quality/safety date also appears.
    • Wine and distilled spirits may display production/bottling dates in various formats.
    • Exemptions: infant formula, eggs/pasteurized in-shell eggs, beer and other malt beverages.
    • Federal preemption: provisions that conflict with federal law are unenforceable.

  • Reduced-oxygen packaging and Clostridium botulinum controls (C)

    • Facilities using reduced-oxygen packaging where C. botulinum is a hazard must ensure at least two independent controls/barriers to prevent growth/toxin formation.
    • Must have an approved HACCP plan that:
    • Identifies foods prepackaged and limits prepackaged foods to those that do not support C. botulinum growth (e.g., aw ≤ 0.91, pH ≤ 4.6, intact USDA-cured meats, or foods with high competing organisms).
    • Specifies methods to maintain foods at 41°F or below.
    • Requires prominent labeling on principal display panel instructing maintenance at 41°F and discarding if not served/consumed within 30 calendar days of packaging.
    • Limits refrigerated shelf life to no more than 30 calendar days from packaging to consumption (with certain grandfathering/transition rules tied to manufacturer dates), with a July 1, 2026 transition date referenced for prior vs. post dates.

Who is affected
- Food manufacturers, processors, and retailers that label and sell foods in the jurisdiction (including grocery stores, deli/bakery counters).
- Dairy processors and distributors of market milk and cream.
- Food facilities that use reduced-oxygen packaging (e.g., vacuum packaging).
- State regulatory agency/commissioner responsible for adopting implementation regulations and consumer education.
- Consumers, who would see standardized date terminology and safety-related labeling.

Procedural / timeline notes
- The text sets June 30, 2026 as a key effective threshold: date-label wording requirements and refrigerated shelf-life rules change for products manufactured after that date (and some transition dates include July 1, 2026).
- The provided legislative actions (committee referrals, hearing dates, read dates, committee report) appear to relate to a Massachusetts House bill file; check the official docket for the jurisdiction and bill number to confirm the correct text and current status.

Recommendation
- Confirm the official bill text and sponsoring jurisdiction (Massachusetts vs. South Carolina) before relying on these provisions. If the food-labeling language is intended, stakeholders (dairy processors, grocery chains, manufacturers) should begin assessing labeling systems, packaging space for standardized phrases or abbreviations, and HACCP plans for vacuum/reduced-oxygen-packaged products to meet the June 30, 2026 threshold.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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