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Food waste is a global problem. Not only does it contribute to the growing problem of world hunger, it also accounts for almost 60% of greenhouse gas emissions from landfills. The The Biden-Harris Administration outlined a a new plan to reduce food waste. It’s up to you to determine if the food is in fact spoiled or not before throwing it away.
If you know you are dealing with expired foodyou can always use top composter to keep organic waste out of the landfill. Before you decide to toss it, brush up on your ability to tell when food is past its expiration date and when it’s not, so you don’t end up with perfectly good supplies.
Americans produce 325 pounds of food waste per person, per year, and much of this is discarded food that is considered expired and no longer fit for consumption. Some of this can be attributed to leftover food. Disturbed? Much of this food waste can be attributed to the throwing away of food that may still be safe to eat but whose printed expiration date has passed.
Throwing away potentially unspoiled food is not only a food waste problem, but also a financial waste problem. “I’ve seen statistics that if a consumer really pays more attention to expiration dates, they can save up to about $1,300 a year,” says Christopher Greco, CEO of Storewisesoftware platform for independent grocers I spoke to about food expiration dates.
What are the expiration dates?
Once the package seal is broken, the expiration date and expiration date no longer apply.
“Expiration dates are both a matter of quality and safety,” says Greco. On the one hand, manufacturers and producers want you to experience their products in the best possible condition for taste and texture, and on the other hand, they want to reduce the risk of any possible foodborne illness.
Read more: How to store and preserve fresh herbs
Some products like dairy products products, have relatively short shelf lives and expiration dates that are quickly approaching when you bring them home from the store. Others, such as canned and canned goods, can stay on store shelves or in your pantry or refrigerator for quite some time, perhaps even years.
There are many nuances surrounding food expiration dates
If the expiration date is several years ago, it would be wise to send it packaged.
There are many nuances both in terms of quality and safety, in terms of shelf life, especially for those products that are less durable in nature.
Greco takes us through different scenarios given a common household product with an expiration date in the near future, milk, where both storage and transportation variables can affect its condition even after the expiration date is already printed on the packaging. “You could have a different profile if that milk was dropped into the grocery store by the distributor and sat in the back unrefrigerated for even 20 or 30 minutes before it was picked up,” he says. “If you bought that milk in South Florida, where it’s 100 degrees, and you drove 30 minutes home, that’s going to affect the quality, too.”
Best before date, best before date, sell by date and freeze date
You’ll usually find the expiration dates on the cans on the bottom.
Expiry dates may also be printed with different text, which creates different considerations and may speak more to quality issues than safety. According to USDA Food Safety and Inspection Servicethese are the meanings behind the different labels:
- A “Best if used by” date. indicates when a product will be at its best taste or quality. This is not a purchase or safety date.
- A “Sold To” date tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management. This is not a safety date.
- A “Use by” date is the last date recommended for using the product at its highest quality. This is not a safety date (except when used on infant formula.)
- A “Freeze-By” the date indicates when a product must be frozen to maintain peak quality. This is not a purchase or safety date.
Several factors contribute to how long food stays safe to eat, including storage, packaging and the environment.
These phrases can be useful guidelines for the consumer, but it is important to note that, except in the case of formula, an expiration date is not required by federal law. As stated above, none of these address the issue of safety as far as consumption is concerned. In short, you’ll have to rely on your senses anyway, including common sense, to determine if a food is safe to eat.
Using common sense
Some foods take longer to expire than you think, but others expire faster. Olive oil, for example, does not stay fresh for more than a few months after opening.
“I think a lot of consumers have a hard and fast rule when it comes to expiration dates, thinking that if it’s the 28th or 29th and something expired on the 27th, then they should throw it away ,” Greco says, but that’s not always, or even usually, the case. “You have to at least smell it and maybe taste it, and it might still be good,” he says.
On the other hand, it’s an important habit anyway, because even before the expiration date has passed, you may have a suspicion that something has gone awry. Given various shipping and storage scenarios, the expiration date can become meaningless and, as noted above, does not reflect any federal regulations.
Even the USDA recommends this course of action: “The quality of perishable products may deteriorate after the expiration date; however, such products should still be safe if handled properly. Consumers should assess the quality of the product before consumption to determine if the product is showing signs of spoilage.” You can handle foods properly by putting them away as soon as you get home, knowing where they are are the coldest areas in your refrigeratorby separating the different types of food, using appropriate storage containers and not overfilling them to begin with.
I bought this chicken on March 11, 2024, but the sell-by date was still a week away.
Read more: Chicken labels are confusing. Here’s what they do (and don’t) mean
Some items are very obviously spoiled when they show signs of mold or decay, or when the smell becomes off-putting. (Even if there is some mold, probably you don’t have to throw away your cheese.) Items that have a natural preservative quality, such as cheese, pickled products or those with a high vinegar content, or other preserved products such as jam, are much more likely to become unpleasant to you or become pale in taste before they become dangerous.
Personal shopping helps with expiration dates and food waste
Expired meat and seafood are more likely to cause problems than most other groceries.
Greco notes that our shopping habits also play a role in the potential waste of non-perishable food. “Part of what also contributes to food waste is the lack of frequent grocery shopping,” he says. While buying in bulk can help save money on some items, trying to menu plan or stock up for weeks or months at a time, rather than just a few days, usually results in too much food on hand that can be difficult to use, before it actually begins to turn, regardless of its expiration date.
If you’re someone who still feels compelled to toss out produce out of an overabundance of caution based on expiration dates, visiting your local grocer more often can help keep groceries in your fridge and money in your account better.
At the end of the day, use your judgment when it comes to expired foods. Use your senses, including Common sense to guide you in determining when food is safe to eat or when it has not reached its peak value.
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