Study: Americans don't understand food expiration dates
Marie Donlon | February 21, 2019
A survey from Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF), which is based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has revealed that Americans are confused by food label dates, which has led to the unnecessary disposal of food, increased waste and food safety risks.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an estimated 31% of food is wasted at both the consumer and retail levels each year. That data along with the results of the Johns Hopkins survey has led the team to determine that much of that waste is due to Americans failing to understand the difference between the two classifications of recently adopted industry standard food labels: “Best if Used By” and “Use By.” The “Best if Used By” classification speaks to a food’s quality, which will decline as the date listed approaches but can still be safely consumed, whereas the “Use By” date suggests a safety issue if food is consumed after the “Use By” date has passed, potentially resulting in food-borne illnesses like Listeria.
Of the nearly 1,030 survey respondents, 84% reported “occasionally” discarding food before the recommended date while almost 40% of respondents reported “always” discarding the food ahead of the recommended date. Additionally, over half of the survey respondents believed that the dates listed are federally regulated, which they are not.
The food label confusion increases, according to the study, when it comes to specific foods. For instance, raw chicken is the food survey respondents reported throwing out the most as the recommended date approached, while soft cheeses were often reportedly kept well after their expiration date even though expired soft cheese has a greater Listeria risk.
"The voluntary standard is an important step forward. Given the diverse interpretations, our study underlines the need for a concerted effort to communicate the meanings of the new labels," said lead author Roni Neff, Ph.D., who directs the Food System Sustainability Program with the CLF and is an assistant professor with the Bloomberg School's Department of Environmental Health and Engineering. "We are doing further work to understand how best to message about the terms."
The study is published in the journal Waste Management.
I have sour cream in my refrigerator with a 'best by' date of July 18, 2018.
It's still smooth and creamy. But I remove what I want and quickly put the lid back on to help keep out airborne mold spores and bacteria. I only use a clean utensil to scoop out the sour cream.
A lot of salad dressings are fine, even four or more years past their 'best by' date. Many canned goods fit into this category.
When it comes to 'best by' dates, I look to see what the ingredients are. Food items with vinegar in them tend to keep very well. As do brine solutions.
Ultimately, for me, it comes down to this:
1. Look at it. If its appearance has changed significantly from 'new', e.g. color changed, or a significant separation of ingredients (except Italian dressing of course), or a significant change in consistency, or it has developed fermentation bubbles, then it falls into the 'suspect' category. A little browning around the edges of salads don't scare me. When it turns slimy brown, then it goes into the compost.
2. Smell it. Fresh cuts of meat generally have very little odor. Any significant change in smell puts food items into the 'suspect' category.
3. Taste it. You can tell a lot about something by tasting a very small portion if it looks ok and smells ok.
Some foods however, it behooves one to pay closer attention. Fresh cuts of meat need to be stored and handled properly or you can get really sick. I will stretch the 'best by' date on fresh cuts of meat by a few days, but I don't push my luck too much there. If I don't think I will use the meat by the 'best by' date, it goes in the freezer.
This article deserves an edit:
"... whereas the “Best By” date suggests a safety issue if food is consumed after the “Best By” date has passed, potentially resulting in food-borne illnesses like Listeria. ..."
“Best By” should be changed to "use by" to correct and to remain consistent with how the article began. The shift to this erroeous “Best By” phrase does demonstrate the point that American don't understand (assuming this article was penned by an American) but it only serves to exacerbate the issue in present form.
Have you noticed that pickles now contain "Refrigerate after opening"? Is that just the Lawyers or have they added something that preserves not as good as the pickling process?