Food expiration
🏷️ Tào lao
A: How was the open dating label invented?
B: In the US, grocers use packaging codes to track how long food has been on the shelves. In the 1970s, consumers demanded in on that info. Many supermarkets adopted a system still in play today called open dating, where food manufacturers or retailers labeled products with dates indicating optimum freshness.
A: Did the label really help the customers know when the food expires?
B: No. This vague metric had nothing to do with expiration dates or food safety. In fact, it is rarely decided with any scientific backing. There are usually no rules around what dates to use.
A: If it is not useful, why do manufacturers and retailers still use it?
B: They use it because they want to ensure the customers taste their food at its best and come back for more.
A: You mean many foods are safe to eat far beyond their labeled dates. Old cookies, pasta, and other shelf-stable groceries might taste stale; but they are not health risk.
B: Yes. Canned foods can stay for years so long that they do not show signs of bulging and rusting. Low freezer temperatures keep bacteria that cause food poisoning in check, preserving properly stored frozen dinners indefinitely. Refrigerated eggs are reserved for five weeks, and if they spoil, your nose will let you know.
A: So, some of these labels still work as intended.
B: Yes, but the vast majority don’t. People use the date labels to decide if food is still eatable. They will toss food that pasts those dates. Restaurants and grocers often do the same.
A: That is a huge amount of waste. Do people do something to avoid all this waste?
B: Yes, they do. Many efforts advocate for laws to require that date labels use one of two standardized phrases: “Best if used by” to indicate freshness, or “use by” to indicate safety. This solution isn’t perfect but researchers estimate setting these standards at a federal level could prevent roughly 398000 tons of food waste annually.
Grocers could also try removing date labels on produce as several UK market chains have done to encourage consumers to use their own judgement.
Many experts also advocate for policies incentivizing grocers and restaurants to donate unsold food. Currently, confusion around dates has led at least 20 US states to restrict donating food past its labeled dates. Even though the federal government actually protects such donations. Countries like France go even further requiring that many supermarkets donate unsold food.
A: I also want to reduce food waste. What can I do?
B: The best way to prevent food waste is to eat what you buy. Don’t forget that your eyes, nose, and tongue are usually all you need to decide if food is fit for consumption or the compost bin