Expiration Date On Canned Food

Food Expiration Dates: Should You Eat That?

Confused by food expiration dates? Figuring out when to toss that packaged poultry can confound even the smartest women, and the wide range of labeling standards don’t make it easier. Lifescript’s Medical Detective is here to help. Whether it’s meat or dairy, fresh or canned, find out what a “use by” date really means – and how it can save you money…

That half-full container of milk in your refrigerator was date-stamped three days ago. A sniff test doesn’t turn your stomach and it hasn’t gone chunky. Should you take a chance and pour it over your kids’ cereal?

The experts say: Sure! In fact, many foods are just fine past their listed “sell by” dates.

“If it smells OK, the world won’t come to an end [if you eat it],” says Jeanne Goldberg, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University in Boston.

“It’s better to use food quickly before it expires – but a large part of your decision-making should be common sense,” she says.

In fact, expiration dates mean more to grocers than they do to consumers. Most packaged foods with dates stamped on them help store owners and manufacturers track the products. Dates and codes vary, and the government regulates almost none of it.

“Seventy percent of shelf-life dates on products are [manufacturer] guesses,” says Ted Labuza, Ph.D., professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota.

Yet most consumers would rather take a hit to their pocketbooks than eat food that’s “expired.”

“People don’t care what we say or if food smells fine,” says Kathy Bernard, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “They can’t get past that date – if it’s expired, they throw it out.”

The labels aren’t easy to decipher either. Walking the aisles of a local supermarket recently, the Medical Detective found an “enjoy before” label on a carton of juice, a “sell by” label on refrigerated salad dressing, a “better if used by” label on a box of cereal, and a “use or freeze by” label on a package of ground turkey. (What does it all mean? See “Label Language” at the end of this article.)

Most of us sort through perishables at the market to get the latest possible use by date, Labuza says. But freshness often depends more on how quickly an item went from delivery truck to store-refrigerator case than the date on the package label.

Deciphering Expiration Dates on Food Packaging

Reading the labels on food packaging can sometimes be more confusing than solving a five star Sudoku puzzle. If you can even find the poorly printed expiration date, you don't know if that's a sell-by date or if the food will be terrible for you if you eat it after that date. Without knowledge about this common label on food and snack packaging, people are wasting hundreds of dollars a year throwing out perfectly good food.

When you're reading expiration dates, you have to consider the type of food in question. For most foods, these dates are there to tell you about food quality and not safety. There is a big difference between quality and safety. Quality refers to how the food looks, tastes, and smells. It is how a consumer expects this particular food to normally taste. A food that is past a use-by date will still be safe to eat, however, it just won't taste as fresh or as good as it would have a few days ago. This applies to most packaged food, especially items like snacks.

Meat is the big exception here and it should come as no surprise. You have to be very careful with any meat that you purchase. The date on this food packaging really does need to be looked at closely. Meat can be dangerous because of the potentially harmful pathogens they contain. When the date arrives, that meat should be either eaten, frozen, or tossed. With most meat products, you can go max, a day or two past that date before it becomes unsafe. However, take special care when eating ground meat. Grinding involves an additional handling step, which is another opportunity for contamination.

There are foods that can do just fine well passed the expiration date on food packaging -- and I don't mean Twinkies. Dried grains and beans don't pose a threat at all if eaten after the date.This is because there is a very low level moisture that bacteria can not grow. Another batch of parts that you are with the clemency condiments. The date of condiments is again a time of quality. These foods are high in salt that acts as a natural preservative. Canned foods last quite a while too. But even if you can eat a can of beans a year later, he probably will not taste nearly as good.

When it comes to determine the safety, you must use your common sense. No, you do not want to lose quite good food, but you do not want to risk getting sick either. If in doubt, throw it out.

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