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Expiration dates probably aren't what you think

St. Joseph News-Press - 11/7/2018

Nov. 07--Thanks in heavy part to general confusion over expiration dates, much of our food is tossed into the garbage.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, between 30 and 40 percent of food in the United States goes uneaten, and unfortunately, a fair amount of that food is perfectly palatable.

"The expiration date on the label, it doesn't necessarily have to do with food safety. It's more about quality and freshness," Sarah Wood, a nutritionist and health education specialist at MU Extension, says. "You could open up a can of green beans or a box of cereal months past the expiration date, and it's not going to hurt you in any way. And, chances are, you're probably not even going to notice the difference taste-wise, especially when you don't have the fresh to compare it with."

There's no national or federal regulation over sell- or use-by dates, with the exception of infant formula, due to the nutrients in the product losing their potency over time. Everything else is on a state level.

But once an item reaches its expiration date, is it destined for the trash bin? Not at all, Wood says. Depending on the product, it will last far beyond that date, provided it hasn't been opened.

"It's really there for the food manufacturers and the grocery-store owners ... that way they can make sure that what's on their shelf is of the best quality that they can deliver," she says. "It's really not a food safety issue."

According to the FDA, a "sell-by" date indicates that a product should not be sold after that date if the buyer is to expected to have it at peak quality. Meanwhile, a "use-by" date is the maker's estimate of how long the product will keep fresh.

"If it's something that's relatively shelf-stable, something that doesn't go in the refrigerator, I would say don't even worry about those expiration dates," Wood says. "And if you put it in the freezer, it's usually good for up to a year. And even beyond a year, it's not a food safety issue. Again, it goes back to quality."

She says that if canned foods have a strange bulge in the side, or if they don't look or smell particularly good, that's an indicator something might need to be tossed. With products like milk or raw meat, visual and olfactory markers can give you the same info.

Daniel Cobb can be reached

at daniel.cobb@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowCobb.

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