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Expiration dates on food products are misleading and inaccurate - USA - food safety - food

Expiration dates on food products are misleading and inaccurate

Have you ever experimented with opening a can of recently expired delicacy and eating it? Or do you always throw away expired goods without checking them first? Food expiration dates don't mean as much as many consumers think. Here's what you need to know about dates on labels.

Published: 02/18/2010 19:48
According to University of Minnesota food scientist Ted Labuza, expiration dates on products rather refer to quality (e.g. optimal freshness) than safety. Manufacturers define the expiration dates by imagining the worst conditions of storing and handling food and testing their products based on them.

Also, remarks near expiration dates on products might have quite different meanings. For example, a "sell by" stamp is more of an indication for the store to know how long it can display a product for sale. The "best before" or "best if used by" date refers to a quality or flavor of the food. "Use by" is the remark that sounds like a "real" expiration date. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration, which regulates packaged foods and drugs, only requires a "use-by", or "expiration date" on infant formula. Other package dates are unregulated by the federal government. Although some states exercise oversight, there's no standardization. States of Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. are among those that require some form of dating on perishable food products. Twenty states stamp dates on milk products, but each has their own regulations.

So in optimal case, when you buy perishable goods like milk and meat and put them in the refrigerator as soon as you get home, there is usually a three–to-seven-day grace period after the "Sell by" date has elapsed. As for pre-packaged greens, studies show that nutrient loss in vegetables is linked to a decline in appearance. Pasta and rice will taste fine for a year. Unopened packs of cookies are edible for months before the fat oxidizes and they turn rancid. Pancake and cake mixes have at least six months. Canned items are potentially the safest foods around and will keep five years or more if stored in a cold pantry.
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