Most food products that we get in the market today comes with an expiry date and each works as a form of protection against soiled, rotten or rancid item. But how important is the “use-by” or “sell-by” dates really?
For many of us, we like the idea of freshness and hold it with much importance. The words “new”, “latest” and “freshest of the lot” are what sell. And expiration dates are the antithesis of that.
Based on a new analysis from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Harvard Law School, the dates are actually quite meaningless and cannot protect you from unsafe edibles. Not only that, the dates are causing many Americans, and presumably the rest of the world as well, to waste money and food.
The global phenomenon of food wastage is a growing concern and rightly so.
One of the key causes has been pinpointed to expiration dates.
The labels are said to cause confusion where consumers have thrown out food because it was past the “use-by” and “sell-by” dates. And it’s not just the consumers who are confused, even businesses are tossing out the food because they’re prohibited from selling items after the said dates.
So what do you need to know about the date labels?
It is used to indicate freshness, NOT food safety. Food items which have reached the sell-by, best-by and use-by dates are not necessary inedible but can actually still be eaten. For example, eggs are good for consumption three to five weeks after purchase.
Understand the definition of each label. Generally, sell-by dates are intended more for stores’ reference so that you’re buying a product that tastes as good as the manufacturers want you to. Meanwhile, use-by and best-by are used interchangeably only as an estimate after which the food will no longer be at its best/peak flavour.
The different ways to determine the dates. Not all manufacturers operate on the same way and they don’t use a standard definition for the labels. In fact, they may even have their own ways of coming up with the dates.
Some are based on consumer taste test, while others use laboratory testing to see how long a product can last on a shelf before its quality deteriorates. And there are even others who use scientific studies to come up with a general estimates on how long their products will last. So individual discretion is necessary.
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