What is the primary reason for labeling stored food with a date?

Labeling stored food with a date serves the essential purpose of tracking freshness and safety. This practice helps ensure that food items are consumed or disposed of before they pose any health risks. By maintaining an awareness of how long items have been stored, food handlers can prevent the use of spoiled or unsafe ingredients, thus safeguarding the health of customers and upholding food safety standards.

While identifying the supplier and meeting local regulations are important considerations in food storage and safety, they are secondary to the primary goal of ensuring that food remains fresh and safe for consumption. Similarly, enhancing marketability, while beneficial for sales and aesthetics, does not directly address the fundamental need to monitor food safety and quality over time.