Why doesn’t an expiration date matter as much as we think?

People take expiration dates too seriously. As we have seen people used to freeze their ground beef before the expiration date. They would throw away the milk if the expiration date ran out. We have often seen people throw away last month’s expired boxed stuffing mix. To find out if the expiration date is correct, we conducted research on different types of expiration labels. We discovered that food lasts longer than we think. In fact, there are some foods that actually never expire.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, expiration dates on foods refer to the quality of the food, not its safety. The USDA does not require expiration dates to be placed on foods such as meat, poultry, dairy products, boxed foods, and cans (baby formula is really the only product that should have an expiration date).

expiration labels are added as a helpful guide for retailers and consumers. These are the most common foods. expiration labels:

• Best if used by– This expiration label suggests that a product will be of the highest quality before that date. It will still be safe to eat after that date, but the quality of texture and flavor will begin to decline.
• use by- Typically, this label is found on perishable items, such as piss. It’s still okay to eat that product for a short time after that date has passed, but you shouldn’t wait too long.
• sell for– This label lets retailers know that products must be sold by that particular date. Produce sales are one of the many ways grocery stores try to get old inventory into consumers’ carts, and we all know it’s pretty compelling.

The “Use By” label on foods is the perfect guide for most people. According to a USDA report, Americans waste almost 30 percent of food each year. One reason for that could be that we, the people, continue expiration labels too strict, and sometimes we end up throwing away perfectly good food. It is a pity that a perfectly consumable food is thrown at us. But as they say, it’s never too late to make a change.

Use your best judgment skills to determine whether or not the food should be thrown away. Instead of looking at the expiration label, look at the food. You can see it well? Has its texture changed? Or is the smell funky? Knowing what food should look, smell and feel like is a life skill we should all have. It will prevent you from eating spoiled food and will also prevent you from throwing food away too soon.