A new bill introduced in the US Senate and House Wednesday aims to improve the current expiration date system by developing a food date labeling standard that would reduce consumer confusion and help eliminate a key cause of food waste.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, roughly 40 percent of food in America goes uneaten. This can be attributed in part to confusing date labels such as such as “sell by,” “use by,” and “expires on” which consumers often misinterpreted as an indicator that food could make them sick and must be tossed.