General Law Committee
AN ACT REQUIRING LAST SALE DATES FOR RETAIL PRODUCTS
SUMMARY: This act requires the consumer protection commissioner to adopt regulations incorporating by reference the voluntary version of the federal Uniform Open Dating Regulation as adopted and amended from time to time by the National Conference on Weights and Measures and published in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Handbook 130, or subsequent corresponding handbook of the federal Department of Commerce.
The act exempts from its provisions dairy products that must be marked with their last sale date in accordance with state law and regulations adopted by the Milk Regulation Board. These products are: milk and milk products; cream; yogurt; cottage, ricotta, cream and soft cheese; egg nog; and sour cream.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2009
BACKGROUND
National Conference of Weights and Measures
The conference is supported by the NIST to assist it in fulfilling its statutory responsibility to cooperate with the states to secure uniformity in weights and measures laws and methods of inspection. NIST is a non-regulatory agency within the federal Department of Commerce.
Uniform Open Dating Regulation
“Open Dating” (using a calendar date as opposed to a code on a food product) is a date stamped on a product's package to help the store determine how long to display the product for sale. It can also help the purchaser to know the time limit to purchase or use the product at its best quality. The NIST open dating regulation defines such terms as “sell by,” and “best if used by. ”
OLR Tracking: DD: KM: JL: ts