Expired Food Is Not Always Spoiled. Here’s What You Need to Know About Expired Food
Before you throw away those last few eggs or jar of peanut butter, know that food expiration dates only tell a small part of the story about when it becomes unfit for consumption. Food waste is a global problem that affects us all, and much of it can be attributed to perfectly edible food being thrown out due to misleading or overly careful expiration dates. determine if food Actually Whether it’s spoiled or not, deciding to throw it away requires more than just a look at the label
If you know you’re dealing with expired food—moldy, old, discolored, or congealed—you can always use a countertop 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 expired and when it’s not, so you don’t throw out perfectly good groceries.
Americans produce 325 pounds of food waste per person, per year, and much of that is wasted food that is thought to be expired and no longer fit for consumption. Some of that can be attributed to food scraps. Worried? Much of that food waste can be attributed to throwing away food that may still be safe to eat, but has passed its printed “best before” date.
Throwing away potentially unspoiled food is not only a food waste issue, it is also a financial waste issue. “I’ve seen a statistic that shows if a consumer were to really be more careful about expiration dates, they could save up to $1,300 a year,” says Christopher Greco, CEO of Shopping wisea software platform for independent supermarkets with whom I spoke about food expiration dates.
Who determines the expiration date of food?
Once the seal on the packaging is broken, the best before date and expiry date no longer apply.
“Expiration dates are both a matter of quality and safety,” Greco says. On the one hand, producers and manufacturers want you to experience their products in the best possible state for taste and texture, and on the other hand, they want to minimize the risk of potential foodborne illness.
Read more: How to Store and Preserve Fresh Herbs
Some products, such as dairy products, have a relatively short shelf life and expiration dates that are fast approaching when you bring them home from the store. Others, such as canned and preserved products, can sit on store shelves or in your pantry or refrigerator for quite some time, perhaps even years.
There are many nuances surrounding the expiration date of food
If the expiration date is several years ago, it is wise to throw away the product.
There are many nuances when it comes to quality and safety, but also to shelf life. This is especially true for products that do not have a long shelf life.
Greco walks us through several scenarios, given a common household product with an expiration date that’s about to expire: milk, where both storage and transportation variables can impact its condition even after the expiration date is printed on the packaging. “You might have a different profile if that milk was dropped off at the grocery store by the distributor and it sat in the back of the refrigerator, unrefrigerated, for 20 or 30 minutes before it was put away,” 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 impact the quality, too.”
Best before, use by, sell by and freeze by dates
The expiration date of cans is usually found on the bottom.
Expiry dates can also be printed with different wording, which leads to different considerations and may indicate quality issues rather than safety issues. According to the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculturethese are the meanings behind the different labels:
- a “Best if used by/before” date indicates when a product has the best taste or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
- a “Sell until” date tells the store how long the product should be on sale for inventory control. It is not a safety date.
- a “Use for” date is the last recommended date for use of the product while it is still in top quality. It is not a safety date (except when used on infant formula.)
- a “Freeze-Bee” date indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain best quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
There are several factors that determine how long food is safe to eat, including storage, packaging, and the environment.
These phrases can be helpful guidelines for the consumer, but it is important to note that, except in the case of infant formula, expiration dates are not required by federal law. As noted above, none of these address a safety issue when it comes to consumption. In short, you will have to rely on your senses, including common sense, to determine whether a food is safe to consume.
Use your common sense
Some foods take longer than you might think to spoil, but others spoil faster. Olive oil, for example, doesn’t 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 if it’s the 28th or the 29th, and something expires on the 27th, they should throw it out,” 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 could still be good.”
On the other hand, it is an important habit to develop at least because even before the expiration date has passed, you may suspect that something has changed. Given the various transportation and storage scenarios, the expiration date can become meaningless and, as noted above, it is not a reflection of any federal regulations.
Even the USDA recommends this course of action: “Perishable products may deteriorate after the expiration date; however, such products should still be safe if handled properly. Consumers should evaluate the quality of the product before consuming it to determine if the product shows signs of spoilage.” You can handle food properly by putting it away as soon as you get home, knowing where the coldest zones in your refrigerator are, keeping different types of foods separate, using appropriate storage containers, and not overfilling them to begin with.
I bought this chicken on March 11th, but the sell by date wasn’t until a week later.
Read more: Chicken Labels Are Confusing. Here’s What They Do (and Don’t) Mean
Some products are clearly spoiled when they show signs of mold or decay, or when the odor becomes unpleasant. (Even if there is some mold, you probably don’t need to throw out your cheese.) Products with a natural preservative High-quality products such as cheese, pickles or products with a high vinegar content, or other preserved products such as jam are more likely to become unpleasant or bland in flavor before they become unsafe.
Shopping in physical stores helps against expiration dates and food waste
Meat and fish that have passed their expiration date are more likely to cause problems than most other foods.
Greco notes that our shopping habits also play a role in terms of potentially throwing away unspoiled food. “Part of what also contributes to food waste is the lack of frequency in shopping in the store,” he says. When buying in bulk can help you save money on certain items. If you try to plan a menu or stock up for weeks or months instead of a few days, you often end up with too much food on hand, which is harder to use before it actually starts to spoil, regardless of the expiration date.
If you’re someone who still feels compelled to throw away produce as a precaution due to its expiration date, you may want to make more frequent trips to your local supermarket. This will help you keep your groceries refrigerated and save money in your bank account.
At the end of the day, use your judgment when it comes to expired food. Use your senses, including Ordinary sensory, to help you determine when a food is safe to eat, or when it is past its prime.
