The newly revised "General Rules for Pre packaged Food Labeling of National Food Safety Standards" stipulate that food producers can voluntarily label the "consumer shelf life" of pre packaged food based on its attributes, edible characteristics, etc., as the last date of consumption for consumers' reference. On March 27th, the National Health Commission, together with the State Administration for Market Regulation, released 50 national food safety standards and 9 standard revision forms. These standards mainly focus on people's livelihood concerns and industrial development needs, and are interconnected to synergistically control food safety risks. The newly revised "National Food Safety Standard General Rules for Pre packaged Food Labeling" is in line with international standards. In order to avoid food waste, it stipulates that food producers can voluntarily label the "consumption shelf life" of pre packaged food based on its properties, edible characteristics, etc., as the last date of consumption for consumers' reference. The new food safety national standard has established a "consumer shelf life" system for pre packaged food, which is a major highlight. It caters to the fact and demand of some consumers who consume food beyond its shelf life (delayed consumption), giving consumers a reassurance pill for delayed consumption. Many people believe that the shelf life of food is the safety period of food. Once the shelf life is over, it crosses the safety bottom line and cannot be eaten again. This is actually a misunderstanding. According to relevant laws, regulations, and national standards, the shelf life of food is determined based on the strictest considerations of food safety, as well as the best taste, nutrition, and other factors, while leaving a certain amount of food safety redundancy. In a suitable storage environment, even if a certain food exceeds its shelf life, it does not necessarily mean that it has entered the spoilage period or the consumption blacklist. If the food is not expired for a long time, its taste, nutrition, etc. may lose their optimal state, but it still meets the safety standards. This also means that if consumers do not care about the decrease in taste, nutrition, and other parameters of some slightly expired foods, they can still consume them. Pre packaged food not only has a shelf life, but also a "consumer shelf life". The 'consumer shelf life' is usually longer than the shelf life, which is the bottom line of food safety and the last date of food consumption. But in the context of the "consumer shelf life" gap, consumers are unaware that food that has exceeded its shelf life still has a short safe consumption period, nor do they know the exact length and final deadline of the safe consumption period. In this way, consumers may have two opposing choices: one is to throw away food immediately when it exceeds its shelf life, and the other is to eat expired food with a lucky mentality. Setting a "consumer shelf life" for pre packaged food is not to encourage consumers to eat food beyond its shelf life, but to provide clear information guidance to some consumers and draw a striking safety red line. If some consumers eat expired food in a confused manner, it is easy to encounter food safety issues. By labeling food with a "shelf life", food producers satisfy consumers' right to know about delayed consumption, allowing them to have a clear understanding when handling or consuming expired food and effectively avoiding safety risks. In fact, many countries have set the "consumer shelf life" in the form of general consumption period and consumption period for pre packaged foods on the basis of setting the best taste period or best consumption period. Our country's food safety standards establish a "consumer retention period" system, which not only conforms to international conventions, but also meets the requirements of food safety protection and consumer rationality, and conforms to the consumption habits of some people who delay eating. Mandatory labeling of the shelf life of pre packaged food and relying on the shelf life for food safety supervision and consumer rights protection can practice the concept of strict supervision and safeguard the bottom line of food safety. Voluntary labeling of the "consumer shelf life" of food can help consumers form a clearer and more accurate understanding of the shelf life of food, which is helpful for consumers to safely and confidently consume some slightly expired food, and for consumers to choose a reasonable way to handle expired food. This has positive implications for reducing food safety risks caused by expired food and preventing waste. Of course, consumers should not relax their vigilance and prevention of food safety risks just because of the "shelf life" of consumption. Instead, they should develop healthy consumption habits and try not to consume food beyond its shelf life. (New Society)