Misleading date labels contribute to food waste.
While we wait for legislation that can standardize and clarify, you can educate yourself and others about what date labels really suggest.
Taste and smell remain the best indicators of food quality. The milk in my morning tea lived on past the date on the carton. It's milk from a large local brand, Clover, and it has been stored properly. If it gets stinky or lumpy it goes; otherwise it's just fine.

The Food Law and Policy Clinic of Harvard Law School continues to publish useful reports on this and other issues around extra food and reducing food waste. Check it out.
https://www.chlpi.org/flpc-releases-issue-brief-calling-federal-legislation-standardize-date-labels/?fbclid=IwAR14ifBkxD73BRbIEsDo4B0NWLwh3rEPGOgDDilFCAOLXSWS4gXyWph7PaM

Why not food purchasing guidelines for congregations?

Yesterday when Michael Dimmock mentioned the L.A. food purchasing criteria I got very interested. Here's the description on their food policy council's page:
http://goodfoodla.org/policymaking/good-food-procurement/

I've continued to recommend LOAF to congregations whenever I get the chance. (Local, Organic, Animal Friendly, Fair-traded)

But here are 5 categories in which the City of Los Angeles and LAUSD is trying to improve it's food purchasing:
(1) local economies, 
(2) environmental sustainability, 
(3) valued workforce, 
(4) animal welfare, and 
(5) nutrition

I think these maybe clearer and more comprehensive than the four categories of LOAF. But curiously they spells levan, which with a little tweaking could be levain or leaven.
Hmmm.

Wouldn't it be great if our congregations could track their progress in improving the impact of their food and beverage purchases using these?

Raw is right!

Actually, I don't have strong feelings about raw milk, but the news of armed raids on stores selling the stuff was - well, a little raw.

A good place to begin reading about pasteurized v raw is with Marion Nestle.
http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/07/the-dangers-of-dairy-raw-vs-pasteurized/60512/

Nestle tends to sensible opinions and good links to more information. Her own blog:
http://www.foodpolitics.com/tag/raw-milk/

But this reminds me to call attention to the Atlantic magazine's food pages.
http://www.theatlantic.com/food/

Who knew? My high school English teacher said that in her days as a young woman traveling trains in and out of New York City she was advised to carry a copy of the Atlantic conspicuously, so that she would appear serious, and no men would make inappropriate advances. Now they have cocktail recipes on the web site.

But "food policy" news is aggregated here as well, on a daily basis.
http://www.theatlantic.com/food/category/food-policy/