As easy as it is for me to toss half-empty bottles of sauce and jars of random pickled things from the refrigerator, I rarely let go of shelf-stable canned goods. And in a recent move, I did something I rarely do: look at the expiration dates.
And with that, the question was begged: What the heck is an expiration date, anyway? Well, as it turns out, not much. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “except for infant formula, product dating is not required by Federal regulations.”
All those little numbers on the side of your canned goods, bags of rice, cartons of eggs, jugs of milk and so on are, essentially, a suggestion from the manufacturer providing a time frame in which they believe the product will be in peak quality. And the best part for all of my fellow food hoarders out there is those dates “are not an indicator of the product’s safety,” as per the USDA.
So why does this matter? Food waste is easily the biggest reason.
The National Resources Defense Council (an international environmental advocacy organization) says in America a full 40 percent of the food produced here winds up in the garbage. That adds up to a whopping $218 billion worth every year. And a significant portion of that is because “more than 80 percent of Americans misinterpret date labels and throw food away prematurely, under the misconception that it’s necessary to protect their families’ health,” according to a report by foodindustry.com.
With the exception of infant formula, the so-called “expiration date” on food packages is not a reflection of the product’s safety to eat.
fcafotodigital /Getty ImagesThere are four types of dating on food products to be aware of, and they all serve a different function. Fortunately, the USDA has made them all clear. The following is their take on those digits.
A “Best if Used By/Before” date 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 as described below.
A “Freeze-By” date indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
None of this is to say food doesn’t spoil, regardless of the date on the package. But the USDA’s advice is to trust your nose and not a calendar: “Spoiled foods will develop an off odor, flavor or texture due to naturally occurring spoilage bacteria. If a food has developed such spoilage characteristics, it should not be eaten.”
If you’re hesitant about eating something lingering in your fridge or cupboards, there are some resources out there to help you make more informed decisions about their safety.
The USDA’s FoodKeeper app is a good place to start. It’s a database of food items with guidelines on how long a product should remain safe in both unopened and opened packages. Once you’ve searched for your specific item, the app then allows you to sync the recommended discard date to your smartphone’s calendar to give you a reminder to toss it out.
The website stilltasty.com provides similar information with a wider range of items available to search from. Both resources held some surprising details.
The guideline for milk, which is highly perishable, is five to seven days beyond the date on the container. Eggs will stay good for three to five weeks past the date on the carton. Butter can safely live in the fridge for up to two months past its purchase date.
More interesting to me as a person who’s managed to amass a collection of about a half-dozen cans each of sweetened condensed milk and chipotles in adobo sauce is just how long those will last in their unopened cans: a year past the purchase date for the milk and up to five whole years for the chipotles.
Again, trust your nose and use some common sense with all of these.
The shelf life of many canned items is much longer than the date printed on the package.
nobtis /Getty Images / iStockphotoSpoiled milk products will make themselves painfully obvious — as anyone who’s taken a regrettable sip of coffee dashed with rancid cream will know.
Any cans that are rusty or bulging should be tossed.
Mold on hard cheeses can be safely cut away (cut at least an inch off below the moldy part) but mold on just about anything else can be problematic. And yes, this means it’s not advised to scrape off the mold on top of ancient jelly and keep making PB&Js.
If all this talk of spoiled food hasn’t soured your appetite, we’ve been cooking up a party here this week. Try any of the following Buffalo sauce inspired dishes as an alternative to wings for your Super Bowl spread.
pstephen@express-news.net | Twitter: @pjbites | Instagram: @pjstephen
https://ift.tt/3oALz4G
food
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar