The Government Strictly Regulates All Expiration Dates
Here’s something that might surprise you – the federal government doesn’t actually require product dating for most foods, with the exception of baby food and infant formula. Unlike what many people assume, the FDA allows manufacturers to sell almost any food past these dates, with baby formula being the exception.
Date labels are not regulated, and they are set by food manufacturers to keep their products moving through the store shelves. Think about it like this – each company basically gets to make up their own rules about when to put those dates on packages. It’s like having different schools with completely different grading systems and expecting students to understand what an A means everywhere.
All Date Labels Mean the Same Thing Across Different Products
Stamps of “sell by,” “enjoy by,” “best by,” “best if used by,” “use by,” and “best before” don’t all necessarily mean the same thing, and don’t communicate anything about the actual safety of the food after the printed date. This creates massive confusion among shoppers who assume these terms are standardized.
It is every manufacturer for themselves when it comes to expiration dates, and this can make the comparison of like products tricky when examining them in the supermarket aisle. The reality is that there’s no universal dictionary for what these phrases mean. One company’s “best by” might be completely different from another’s “use by” date for the exact same type of product.
Food Automatically Becomes Unsafe at Midnight on the Expiration Date
There is no trigger mechanism that automatically makes food bad at a certain date and time. Food doesn’t have an internal clock that suddenly switches from safe to dangerous when the calendar flips. After the product date passes, the quality of these products may lessen, but they should still be safe to consume if they are handled as instructed.
Foods not exhibiting signs of spoilage should be wholesome and may be sold, purchased, donated and consumed beyond the labeled “Best if Used By” date. Think of expiration dates more like a gradual dimmer switch for quality rather than an on-off switch for safety. The food doesn’t magically transform the second that date passes.
Expiration Dates Are Primarily About Food Safety
Date labels do not correlate with food safety, but rather food quality. This is probably the biggest misconception that leads people to waste perfectly good food. These dates are about quality – manufacturers’ suggestions of when a product tastes best – not about safety or spoilage.
Expiration dates are not always about safety. They often indicate when a product is at its peak quality. It’s like the difference between a concert being at its absolute best versus still being enjoyable. The food might not be at its prime flavor, but it’s usually still perfectly safe to eat.
You Must Stop Using Products Exactly on the Listed Date
You Must Stop Using Products on the Date Listed: Remember, the date is simply when the manufacturer no longer guarantees the quality of the product. Many consumers don’t realize this is more about the company covering themselves legally than about actual food safety.
Daily Meal estimates that some food may be good after expiration dates, anywhere from 1 week to 1 year after expiration. The timeframe varies dramatically depending on the type of food and how it’s been stored. Canned goods, for example, can often last years beyond their printed dates when stored properly.
Nearly All Americans Follow Expiration Dates Correctly
More than 90 percent of Americans may be prematurely tossing food because they misinterpret food labels as indicators of food safety. This statistic is absolutely staggering when you think about the scale of waste it represents. More than 80 percent of Americans discard perfectly good, consumable food simply because they misunderstand expiration labels.
A recent nationally representative survey found that consumer confusion around food date labeling led 88 percent of consumers to discard food near the package labeling date at least occasionally. That means almost nine out of ten people are throwing away food that could still be safely consumed, contributing to both waste and unnecessary grocery expenses.
Canned and Dry Goods Follow the Same Rules as Fresh Foods
Canned and dry foods are often misjudged due to expiration dates. We’re trained to throw away canned goods the minute they pass their “Best By” date. However, these products can last much longer than their labels suggest, as long as they’re stored properly.
A can of beans or a tin of tuna may last far beyond its printed expiration date, especially if it’s kept in a cool, dry place. The “Best By” label doesn’t mean that the food will suddenly spoil. These shelf-stable products are designed to last much longer than fresh foods, but many people treat them the same way.
Sell-By Dates Are Meant for Consumer Safety
“Sell by” dates are a tool for stock control, suggesting when the grocery store should no longer sell products in order to ensure the products still have shelf life after consumers purchase them. They are not meant to communicate with consumers, nor do they indicate the food is bad on that date.
Some products carry a “sell by” date, which is used to inform retailers about stock rotation but can mislead consumers. It’s essentially a business-to-business communication tool that accidentally ended up visible to shoppers. When you see a “sell by” date, it’s like overhearing a conversation between the store and its suppliers – it wasn’t really meant for you.
The Current Date Labeling System Works Fine
The USDA estimates that the average family of four spends at least $1,500 each year on food that ends up uneaten and the EPA estimates that, in 2019, 66 million tons of wasted food was generated in the food retail, food service and residential sectors, and most of this waste (about 60%) was sent to landfills.
Misunderstanding date labels leads to millions of tons of discarded food in US homes every year – and wasted food represents roughly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and drives the loss of forests, grasslands, and other wildlife habitats. The environmental impact extends far beyond what most people realize, affecting climate change and biodiversity loss.
The confusion isn’t just costing money – it’s actively harming our planet. USDA estimates that 30 percent of the food supply is lost or wasted at the retail and consumer levels. One source of food waste arises from consumers or retailers throwing away wholesome food because of confusion about the meaning of dates displayed on the label.
This whole situation shows just how much our assumptions about food safety can lead us astray. The next time you’re standing in your kitchen, staring at that yogurt that’s two days past its “best by” date, remember that you’re probably holding perfectly safe food that millions of people would throw away unnecessarily. What other everyday “facts” do you think might be worth questioning?
