(たべる)

to eat

(すてる)

to throw away; to discard

(しょくひん)

food products, foodstuffs

(ろす)

loss, waste (from English "loss")

(へらす)

to reduce; to decrease

(きげん)

time limit, deadline, expiry date

(ひょうじ)

display, indication

(みなおす)

to review, to reconsider

(うごき)

movement; trend

(ひろがる)

to spread

(にほん)

Japan

(ねんかん)

period of ~ years

(まん)

ten thousand

(とん)

ton (unit)

(こえる)

to exceed

(はんぶん)

half

(ちかく)

nearby

(かてい)

household; home; family

(でる)

to come out; to occur

(しょうひきげん)

expiration date

(しょうみきげん)

best-before date

(にしゅるい)

two kinds, two types

(すぎる)

to pass (time), to exceed

(もの)

thing

(おいしい)

delicious, tasty

(めやす)

rough guide, standard, yardstick

(ちがい)

difference

(じゅうぶん)

enough; sufficient

(しる)

to know, learn

(まだ)

still; yet

(そこで)

and so, therefore

(ねんがっぴ)

date (year, month and day)

(ねんげつ)

years, the passage of time

(しめす)

to show / indicate

(かいしゃ)

company

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(こまかい)

fine / small

(ひづけ)

date

(こだわる)

to fuss over, to be particular about

(はいそう)

delivery, distribution

(ざいこ)

stock, inventory

(かんり)

management, administration

(しょうひしゃちょう)

Consumer Affairs Agency

(いみ)

meaning

(ただしい)

correct; right; proper

(つたえる)

to convey / to tell

(とりくみ)

efforts, initiatives

(つづける)

to continue

(ほうしん)

policy, course of action

even though ~ / although ~

Plain form + のに expresses that the result clashes with expectation. 食べられるのに捨てられてしまう = 'it is thrown away even though it can still be eaten'.

potential form (can do)

入れられる is the potential form of 入れる — 'can put (things) in'. It describes what the furniture allows you to do.

completely / finish ~ing (often regretful)

Expresses completion, often with regret or unexpectedness. Here the rice sold out quickly.

passive voice: was/were ~ed

Passive form indicating that the subject receives the action. '食べられて' means 'were eaten'. Central grammar of this article about tulips being eaten by deer.

to try to ~ / to be about to ~

The volitional form plus とする shows an attempt. 消そうとしています means they are trying to put the fires out, without saying they succeed.

is doing, has been doing (ongoing state/action)

Expresses a continuing action or resulting state. Formed with て-form + いる. Can describe an action in progress or a state resulting from a past change.

is said to be / is considered to be

Used in news writing to report a widely held estimate without naming a source. Here it marks the figure for how much food waste comes from homes.

had better not

「外に出ないほうがいいです」と、雨が強い時は外出しない方がよいと助言しています。

is nothing more than, is only

Emphasises that an amount is smaller or less significant than expected. Here only a fraction of the appliances is actually collected.

because of ~ / since ~

Plain form + ため states a cause in formal writing. 知られていないため = 'because it is not well known'.

not ... but rather ...

Negative connective form of だ. Used to negate one thing and present an alternative. では + なく links to what follows as the true explanation.

have been doing ~

Expresses continuation from past up to present.

without doing ～

Used in 悩まずに ('without worrying alone') to encourage people to seek consultation.

easy to ~ / tends to ~

Used in 'うつりやすくて' meaning 'easily contagious / easy to catch'.

to go on doing / continue to (from now)

In '増えていく' – 'will continue to increase (into the future)'. Indicates continuing trend going forward.

食品ロスを減らす期限表示の見直し

Rethinking date labels to cut food waste

食べられるのに捨てられてしまう「食品ロス」を減らそうと、期限の表示を見直す動きが広がっている。

In an effort to reduce "food loss" — food thrown away even though it is still edible — a movement to review date labeling is spreading.

日本の食品ロスは年間400万トンを超え、その半分近くは家庭から出ているとされる。

Japan's food loss is said to exceed four million tons a year, with nearly half of it coming from households.

食品には「消費期限」と「賞味期限」の二種類がある。

There are two kinds of dates on food: the "use-by date" and the "best-before date."

消費期限を過ぎた物は食べないほうがいいが、賞味期限はおいしく食べられる目安にすぎない。

You had better not eat something past its use-by date, but the best-before date is nothing more than a guide to when the food still tastes good.

この違いが十分に知られていないため、まだ食べられる物まで捨てられている。

Because this difference is not well known, even food that is still edible is being thrown away.

そこで、賞味期限を「年月日」ではなく「年月」だけで示す会社が増えてきた。

And so more companies have begun showing the best-before date with only the year and month, rather than the year, month and day.

細かい日付にこだわらずにすむうえ、配送や在庫の管理もしやすくなるという。

This not only removes the need to fuss over exact dates but also makes delivery and inventory management easier, they say.

消費者庁は、期限の意味を正しく伝える取り組みを続けていく方針だ。

The Consumer Affairs Agency plans to keep up its efforts to convey the meaning of these dates correctly.