As you dive into spring cleaning your kitchen, why not use this time to rethink your food habits? It’s the ideal moment to reevaluate how we perceive expiration dates and make choices that help reduce waste. Before tossing items during your cleaning spree, consider whether those dates are telling the full story.
Many consumers are confused about expiration dates which leads to a lot of perfectly good food heading to the trash. The truth is, most of these dates have nothing to do with food safety, and it’s costing you money, wasting resources and unnecessarily sending food to the landfill.
Let’s break free from this habit. It’s time for a Fresh Take on what these dates really mean.
UNDERSTANDING FOOD LABELS
Date labels on all products are placed voluntarily by manufacturers and are not regulated or overseen by a third party, except for infant formula.
- Best if Used By/Before: This indicates quality, not safety. The food might not be at its best flavor, but it may still be safe to eat.
- Sell-By: This is for retailers, not consumers. It’s the date to indicate when the store should stop displaying the product.
- Use-By: This is the last date recommended for the best quality, but it’s not a safety date, except for infant formula.
HOW TO TELL IF FOOD HAS GONE BAD
Use your senses! If it smells and tastes good, it often is. 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.
DON’T TOSS, TRANSFORM!
Shepherd’s Pie is a fantastic way to use up leftover ground meat, veggies and potatoes. It’s like a culinary hug for your fridge’s leftovers.
MAKE SHOPPING EASY WITH A LIST
Click here to view the Fresh Takes suggested March shopping list.
Store foods properly:
Proper storage can extend a product’s shelf life, even beyond the expiration date. Use our Food Storage Guide for tips on storing, freezing and reviving foods.
Freeze it:
If you can’t use it within the recommended time, freeze it. Foods kept frozen at 0°F or below stay safe for up to six months.
Check for signs of spoilage:
Before tossing food, check for any signs of spoilage. If it looks and smells fine, it’s often still safe to eat, even past the expiration date.
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SPRING INTO ACTION
This spring, let’s look beyond the date, use our senses and make our kitchens — and wallets — a little bit happier. Follow Fresh Takes for more practical tips, leftover-reviving recipes and ways to extend the life of your food at savemorethanfood.org/freshtakes.
