Washington Post:
On Wednesday, the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the two largest trade groups for the grocery industry, announced that they’ve adopted standardized, voluntary regulations to clear up what product date labels mean. Where manufacturers now use any of 10 separate label phrases, ranging from “expires on” to “better if used by,” they’ll now be encouraged to use only two: “Use By” and “Best if Used By.”
The former is a safety designation, meant to indicate when perishable foods are no longer good. “Best if Used By” is a quality descriptor — a subjective guess of when the manufacturer thinks the product should be consumed for peak flavor.
That’s what most “use-by” dates indicate now, though studies have shown that many consumers believe they signal whether a product is okay to eat. In fact, it’s totally fine to eat a product even well after its so-called expiration date.
Great to hear there will be more clarity on what the “sell by” dates mean. I’ll throw out less food now.
Some time ago there was an episode of 99% Invisible that talked about this issue. One of the interviewees suggested that, really, the smell test is sufficient as to whether food has spoiled; never mind the date. If that milk doesn’t smell bad, it’s not bad, even if the date stamp has passed.
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“Good to see the system working! Oh, and speaking of working…” Yeah – that’s really annoying, isn’t it? 🙁
Just remember that a Best if Used By date only applies to the unopened package. Once opened, then usual spoilage timelines apply.
I don’t understand why the food industry is not using color changing plastics that were developed years ago for this purpose. The plastic, and other materials, change color to show if the product is fresh or not.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-12128120
https://www.hunterlab.com/blog/color-food-industry/sensor-film-and-color-analysis-work-hand-in-hand-to-ensure-food-safety/
They probably don’t really want consumers to know that much. The more vague, the more possibility you’ll buy it and just toss it if it’s no good when you get home. Cha-ching.
Eventually though, this technology will make it’s way into stores.
Good point.
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