Definition of "fresh" continues to be an issue for bakers.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations permit milk processors to put the word "fresh" on their milk cartons. And raw agricultural produce can be advertised and sold as "fresh." So why is it, asks the American Bakers Association (ABA), that FDA won't allow the word on baked goods? In recent comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)--an office within the White House Office of Management and Budget--ABA claims that the FDA rule barring the word "fresh" on baked goods puts those products at a disadvantage in the marketplace.

ABA is asking that the definition be changed "to state that, like pasteurized milk, baked goods that are preserved with a safe and suitable preservative may also be called 'fresh' because consumers commonly understand they are nearly always preserved." The bakers note that "since the current regulation does not specify a time period during which pasteurized milk remains fresh or which preserved raw agricultural commodities remain fresh, it only logically follows that there is no need to establish specific time periods during which bread would remain 'fresh' after baking." ABA also points out that retail stores routinely rotate their stock of baked goods "so that the freshest products are offered to consumers." The organization claims that the "use by" or "sell by" dates on bakery products also provides "additional clear label information for consumers."

OIRA is a unit within OMB that is charged with evaluating federal rules and regulations and developing cost-benefit analyses of those actions. The office also reviews documents as part of its role in administering the Paperwork Reduction Act.