Thirty seven percent of consumers reported that they always orusually discard food when it is near the package date, and 84% saidthey did so at least occasionally.As might be expected, reported discard practices varied considerably by food item, with respondents being far more likely to discard perishable foods such as deli meats based on the listed datesthan nonperishables like breakfast cereal. (Fig. 1) Of the includedfood items, prepared foods, deli meats, and soft cheeses are particularly at risk of contamination with listeria, which can proliferatein refrigerated conditions, making date labels a more useful toolfor assessing safety for these foods than others. Raw chicken(69%) was most frequently discarded ‘‘always” or ‘‘most of thetime,” although it is not considered a risk because it will be cooked,Next most frequent were prepared foods and deli meats (62% and61%), while soft cheeses were near the bottom of the list (49%).Unopened canned goods and breakfast cereal pose the least concern based on time since packaging, and respondents were leastlikely to discard them based on labels – though 27% and 20% stillsaid they do so most of the time or always.