{"id":281091,"date":"2025-06-08T08:42:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T08:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/marketing\/how-consumer-misconceptions-about-expiration-dates-increase-food-waste-and-eat-into-profit-margins\/"},"modified":"2025-06-08T08:42:49","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T08:42:49","slug":"how-consumer-misconceptions-about-expiration-dates-increase-food-waste-and-eat-into-profit-margins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=281091","title":{"rendered":"How Consumer Misconceptions About Expiration Dates Increase Food Waste and Eat Into Profit Margins"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The fight against food waste has gained global momentum, with policies like California\u2019s ban on \u201csell by\u201d dates aiming to reduce unnecessary disposal. A new Journal of Marketing<\/em> study<\/a> finds that consumer perceptions about food healthiness play a surprisingly critical role in waste decisions. We discover that healthy foods are more likely to be discarded when nearing their expiration dates because consumers perceive them as more perishable\u2014even when actual freshness is the same.<\/p>\n

This misperception has wide-reaching consequences. Consumers demand steeper discounts for healthy foods close to expiration, are less likely to consume them, and ultimately waste them more often than less healthy options. These biases not only undermine sustainability efforts but also create challenges for retailers striving to balance inventory management and profit margins.<\/p>\n

Misconceptions About \u201cFreshness\u201d<\/h2>\n

Our research reveals a fundamental disconnect in how consumers evaluate healthy and unhealthy foods. Healthy items are often perceived as \u201cfresher,\u201d which ironically leads to the belief that they spoil faster. This misconception influences decisions across the food value chain\u2014from purchase to consumption to disposal. For example, consumers are less likely to eat a salad nearing its expiration date compared to a similarly aged bag of chips, believing the former to be riskier to their health.<\/p>\n

Retailers face the ripple effects of these biases. Healthy foods nearing expiration often require deeper price cuts to incentivize purchase. This impacts profit margins and creates logistical challenges in maintaining stock levels.<\/p>\n

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Key Insights<\/strong><\/h3>\n