Food Waste Expiry Dates (Video)

What’s in a Date? Clear the Confusion with Food Expiry Dates

 

Watch the video on food expiry dates, or read the transcript below – your choice!

Update: with food prices going through the roof, everyone wants and needs to reduce food waste. A great way to do that, is to know how to use food expiry dates to your advantage. I wrote this in 2012 – and expiry dates still confuse consumers now! We really need a simpler system – but until then, this fun video will help.

 

 

Expiry dates can be very confusing.  Do you know the different types of Expiry Dates and what they mean?

There’s a BIG difference between a “Sell By” date, and a “Use By” date. The “Sell By” date is for the retailers .  It’s not for us, the consumers.  So forget the Sell by.  Ignore it.

We’re interested in the “Use By” or the “Best Before” date.

The trouble is, different manufacturers use different words, to say the same thing. It’s no wonder we’re confused!

“Use by” is more serious. But a “best” date is only a recommendation.

You’ll find “use by” dates mostly on fresh produce,  meat and fish.  But a “best” date is much more flexible.

They’re saying this product is at its best until that date, and after that, perhaps the apple Won’t be QUITE as crisp, or the biscuit quite as fresh, but it’s still perfectly safe to eat AFTER that date.  Often, you and I can’t even tell the difference.

food expiry datesIt’s really there more to protect the manufacturer.

So, the key point here is that the ‘best’ date is a recommendation.

It’s still safe to eat after that date.

So don’t just throw it out on that date if it’s still OK.

Of course, there are some foods you don’t mess with.  Like meat, fish, seafood.  Often, they’ll have a “use by” date, and you don’t want to go too far after that use by date.

Sometimes, they won’t have a date, for example if you buy from a butcher or a fishmonger.

So always try to cook or freeze fresh meat or fish within 2 days of buying it.

After all, you can’t ‘smell’ bacteria like eColi.

Now with dairy, you don’t need a nose like Rudolph’s to know if Dairy is no longer good, and you can always test the freshness of eggs in water.

Other foodstuffs you can be much less fussy about.  Biscuits, jams, jellies, pickles, crisps and tinned food can often be good for much longer than their “recommended”, “best by” dates.

By the way, remember the date is meaningless once you’ve opened the food, so use it quickly once it’s open.

To be honest, we’re probably MORE likely to get sick from food that’s been handled by someone who’s ill, or who’s hands aren’t clean, than by eating food past its recommended date.

Food Waste

Food waste  is a global problem.

  • Don’t slavishly throw out food if it’s still good.
  • Just use common sense, but don’t take risks with fresh meat and fish,
  • And remember that most “best” dates are simply recommendations
  • Handle and store food correctly
  • Most importantly, don’t buy too much food – .  this is one of the biggest reasons for food waste in the USA and Europe.

Reduce

You’ve heard the mantra “Reduce, reuse, recycle”?

Well, the most important of those 3 is to Reduce.

And, by buying only what you need, you’ll save throwing money away too!

 

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Other Interesting Videos:   Food Waste:- Leftovers


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  • Thank you for this clear and concise definition of the differences between “Best By” and “Use By”.

    With Passion and Conviction,

    Wendy

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