I do not know how much consumers
rely on the used by dates on food. I
have always known those dates to have a huge safety factor and that it really
means to use discretion.
Another trick for meats in
particular is to simply toss in the freezer to resterilize it anyway. With that trick you are more likely to run
out of flavor before loss of usability.
We are pretty good at storing our
foods so using common sense is pretty sfe.
‘Use-by’ dates: A myth that needs busting
BY
18 NOV 2011 3:28 PM
Here's a superbly kept secret: You know all those dates you see on food
products that say "sell by," "use by," and "best
before"? Those dates do not indicate the safety of your food, and
generally speaking, they're not regulated.
I couldn't believe it either, but a quick look at USDA's food labeling
site confirms that the only product for which "use-by" dates are
federally regulated is infant formula. Beyond that, some states regulate dates
for some products, but generally "use-by" and "best-by"
dates are manufacturer suggestions for peak quality.
Suggestions. For peak quality. That's all.
If this is news to you, you're not alone. Research on date labeling in
the U.K.
"Sell-by" dates are equally problematic. The goal of sell-by
dates is to help stores stock and shelve their goods. Sell-by dates are
designed to indicate a product is still fresh enough for a consumer to take it
home and keep in their fridge for days or weeks. Most stores discard products
as soon as they're past their sell-by dates. It's understandable. Many
consumers would balk at buying something with an expired date, especially since
they may not understand the date's meaning.
But the cost of this waste is significant. In American
Wasteland, a book that examines the massive quantities of food we waste
from farm to fork, an industry expert estimates grocery stores discard $2,300
worth of "out-of-date" food goods each day. Even worse, the waste
continues at home, since many consumers also misinterpret this date and discard
products with weeks of good shelf life remaining. And all that adds up to a
huge amount of wasted resources, with serious impacts to our land, air, and
water.
The good news is that there's a pretty straightforward solution to all
this confusion and waste. It's a system called "closed dating," which
uses a code to communicate information on product freshness to stores for
stocking and shelving purposes without confusing consumers in the process.
As for the "use-by" and "best-by" sisters, there
are two routes the system could take to reduce confusion and waste. Government
could regulate dates more closely so that they serve as genuine indicators of
food safety, as consumers already believe. But since the government can't
predict when you'll accidentally leave your milk in a warm car for an hour,
this can get tricky.
The alternative would be to eliminate the confusing array of dates
completely and for consumers to once again rely on the wisdom of their senses
to determine if food is edible. If that milk smells rotten, by all means throw
it away. But if it smells like good milk and tastes like good milk, it makes
little sense to pour it down the drain because the manufacturer has suggested
to you that it's bad. In fact, when was the last time you heard of someone
actually drinking bad milk and getting sick?
There are, of course, options in between -- government regulation of
some items and no dates on others; no regulation but increased education around
the current system; or simply teaching people about safe food.
Once you're over the shock of not having to throw out that perfectly
good yogurt, let me know: What do you think?
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