Though I’m not one of those people who only shop in the organic isle or specialty stores, I do try to maintain a certain level of health awareness. Not just in what I am eating…but in what I am eating. Confused? Here’s the explanation.
I’m not a fan of food poisoning. Call me crazy, but it just isn’t something that sounds like fun weekend plans. In my home, how I’ve attempted to combat this is by properly storing, cooking and keeping food items. One of the ways I do this is by checking food labels. My mother-in-law can sniff bad food out. Pantry or refrigerator, she doens’t need a fancy date stamped on the side of boxes or cans. No, she can just enter a home through the front door and tell you with absolute confidence that there is something bad in your fridge or pantry. It’s uncanny. Literally, possibly her super power.
For those of us who aren’t so lucky in the sniffer skills, these dates have been graciously placed on our food to help us decode…or are they? “Best Before” and “Sell By” I usually give a bit of latitude to. I guess I’ve considered these a mere time line suggestion, rather then a firm rule. However, “Use By”, you should know that I assume a food poisoning nightmare is in the horizon should I even open the box.
The truth about all of this, and the reason it is pertinent to food storage generally, is that if we understand these labels we can successfully navigate the waters of food storage so that we can actually accumulate before we start throwing out perceived expired food.
I always assumed that all of this was controlled by our government, specifically an agency that established rules after strict testing with our health and safety it’s top priority. However, dates put on our food under the labels of “best before”, “sell by” or “use by” (and other variations) aren’t put there by the USDA or any other governing body that deals with food rules and regulations. No, these are put on by the food companies and any regulations are done by individual states with all different rules that dictate to the production companies their “rules” for quality control. The dates are selected by the food companies that tell you when they think you should eat their product for it’s peak taste. Some dates, such as the “sell by” date is for the grocery stores for inventory purposes. It’s confusing! Though these dates have been standardized for baby food, I think they should standardize all food. That’s just my opinion, but that’s neither here nor there for this post.
I’m not mad at the food companies, I appreciate them telling me when they think my bowl of cheerios will taste the best. It was nice of them to suggest it, but as I have come to understand our non understanding is resulting in billions of pounds of perfectly good food being tossed into the trash cans of the world. Think of the food storage we all could have if this didn’t happen. Think of how many more semi trucks we could fill with food and send to locations around the world for disaster relief.
A quick search on usda.gov defines each of these dates for us to use as reference. From their website:
Examples of commonly used phrases:
- A “Best if Used By/Before” indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
- A “Sell-By” date tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management. It is not a safety date.
- A “Use-By” date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. It is not a safety date except for when used on infant formula.
(That exception they talk about there regarding infant formula is really an exception. The “use by” date is the real deal there. DO NOT USE BABY FORMULA PAST THE USE BY DATE)
I think we need to revert back to using our senses when it comes to food spoilage. Look at it, smell it and if you’re still not sure…go ahead and taste it. At your own risk. Frankly, if the first two tests come back as “iffy” I’ll make a few assumptions and toss it out. The next thing we need to do is read the labels for storage recommendations. If stored correctly, food stays good. It’s pretty simple.
The lesson for food storage is don’t throw out everything that is “expired” in your food storage. Make sure that you store it correctly and then, rest easy. If you need it, it’s there and ready to be eaten.