5 Food Myths That Actually Affect the Supply Chain

Everyone’s got opinions about food; local is better, fresh is best, labels tell the truth.
But most of what we believe about how food gets to us isn’t actually true.

And these myths don’t just affect what we buy, they shape how the entire supply chain operates, from how products are labeled to how much food gets wasted before it ever reaches a plate.

Here are five food myths that have real consequences for the people moving your groceries from farm to fork.

Myth 1: "Farm to Table" Means Your Food Traveled Less

What people think:
Food labeled “farm to table” came straight from a nearby farm to your plate with minimal stops in between.

The reality:
“Farm to table” has no legal definition. It’s a marketing term and it can mean just about anything.

That “local” lettuce at your grocery store? It might have been grown 20 miles away, but it probably didn’t come straight to the store. It may have gone to a regional processing facility, got washed and packaged, then shipped to a distribution center before finally landing on the shelf near where it started.

Meanwhile, produce that travels farther often moves on highly optimized routes; container ships, freight trains, and consolidated truckloads that are planned to eliminate waste and extra miles.

The point isn’t that one is better than the other. It’s that “farm to table” and “local” don’t automatically mean simpler, shorter, or more efficient. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t. The problem is the label can’t tell you which.

Myth 2: "Best By" Dates Mean Food is Unsafe After That Date

What people think:
These dates are regulated safety standards, and food is no longer safe to eat once they’ve passed.

The reality:
Except for infant formula, “best by” dates in most countries are manufacturer suggestions, not safety deadlines. They indicate peak quality, not the point at which food becomes dangerous.

But this misunderstanding creates massive waste throughout the supply chain. Retailers pull perfectly good products off shelves because the date is approaching. Distribution centers reject entire loads. Consumers throw out food that’s still safe to eat.

According to the USDA, confusion over date labels causes 30–40% of all food waste in the U.S., costing the industry billions each year. And that waste ripples backward through the system; more product moving, more storage costs, more disposal logistics, and more resources spent replacing things that didn’t actually need replacing. Not to mention perfectly good food going to waste while people in need struggle to afford food.

This single myth creates artificial urgency that pressures every step of the supply chain.

Myth 3: Buying Local is Always More Sustainable

What people think:
Shorter distance automatically equals a lower carbon footprint.

The reality:
Distance is one variable. Efficiency is another.

A fully loaded container ship or freight train moving thousands of units can be more carbon-efficient per item than a small truck making multiple local deliveries. Consolidated shipments, optimized routes, and economies of scale all factor into the environmental equation.

That doesn’t mean local is bad or global is good, it means the math is more complicated than “closer = better.”

A small farm delivering to a handful of locations in a van might have a higher carbon cost per item than a regional distributor running full truckloads on planned routes. Or it might not, it depends on the specifics.

The issue is that “local” has become shorthand for “sustainable,” and the supply chain reality doesn’t always back that up. Sometimes the most efficient option is regional. Sometimes it’s global. Sometimes it really is the farm down the road.

What matters is understanding that the label alone doesn’t tell you the full story.

Myth 4: "Made in [Country]" Means It Was Produced There

What people think:
A product labeled “Made in Italy” or “Product of Canada” was entirely produced in that country.

The reality:
Ingredients and components cross borders multiple times before a product is finished.

Your “Italian” pasta might use Canadian durum wheat that was milled in the U.S., shaped in Italy, and packaged in Germany. It gets labeled “Made in Italy” because that’s where substantial transformation happened, the legal threshold for labeling in many places.

Country-of-origin rules vary by product and region, but they’re rarely as straightforward as consumers assume. A single item might touch three continents before it reaches a store shelf, even if the label only mentions one country.

This isn’t necessarily a problem, it’s just how global supply chains work. But it does mean the label isn’t the full story, and logistics professionals are coordinating a much more complex process than most people realize.

Myth 5: Fresh Food = Recently Harvested

What people think:
“Fresh” produce or seafood in stores was just picked or caught.

The reality:
“Fresh” is a marketing term, not a timeline.

Apples can sit in controlled-atmosphere storage for 6 to 12 months and still be sold as “fresh.” Fish can be frozen on the boat immediately after it’s caught, thawed at a processing facility, and shipped as “fresh” to your grocery store.

Cold-chain logistics, preservation tech, and smart packaging mean “fresh” often just means “not currently frozen.” It doesn’t mean recently harvested, and it doesn’t mean it traveled a short distance.

In some cases, frozen products have been in the supply chain for less time than “fresh” ones. But because “fresh” sounds better, that’s what gets the premium label and the higher price.

The supply chain isn’t hiding this; it’s just that most consumers don’t realize how much technology and coordination go into keeping food “fresh” long after it left the farm or the boat.

Why These Myths Matter

These aren't just fun facts for trivia night. These myths have real consequences.

When consumers make purchasing decisions based on myths, it puts pressure on the supply chain to deliver something that might not actually align with what people think they're getting. Retailers respond to demand. Distributors adjust their routes. Producers change their labeling.

And in the middle of it all, logistics professionals are working to keep food moving efficiently and quickly even as shifting consumer expectations, marketing trends, and regulatory pressures make that job nearly impossible.

The goal isn't to shame anyone for believing these myths. Most of them exist because the supply chain is complicated, and marketing can capitalize on perpetuating them.

But if we want a food system that's efficient, sustainable, and transparent, it helps to understand what's actually happening behind the scenes, not just what the packaging suggests.

Because the people moving your food are dealing with a much more complex reality than "farm to table" implies.