9 Nasty Truths About Your Favorite Foods
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Sell by, best by, and use by are all labels that we commonly see on foods in the grocery store. They are on just about anything that is packaged, from milk and bagged produce to cookies and soda. Is there really a difference between the terms, and if so, what is it?
BusinessWeek actually has some of the answers for us. A "sell by" date is one that indicates to a store how long the product should be offered for sale, although such a product will almost always be good for at least a few days beyond that date. A "best by" date means that the flavor or texture of a food will begin to decline at that point. The "use by" date is the real expiration date. Beyond it, there is no guarantee that the food will be fresh and tasty or that it will retain all of the nutrients that it started out with. The overall quality of the product can begin to decrease and you're probably better of just starting again with a fresh bottle/can/bag.
The best strategy is to buy foods in small batches so you don't have to worry about expiration dates of any sort coming on too quickly, but keep the dates in mind as you shop for reference points, and choose products with further dates if you know you're not going to be consuming everything you buy in a short period of time.
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10-12-2006 @8:59PM June Shipman said... I remember many years ago in the 50's that a family died in Colorado from home canned beets. Never eat out of a home canned jar without heating or boiling the food before eating. Anything in tin cans (not lined) should never be stored in the can. Put in a different container. Enjoyed the article.
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10-11-2006 @10:17AM CB said... I've had good results by using "EvertFresh Green Bags" to store produce in...most fruits and veggies last much longer before going rotten. They may be available in stores but I ordered mine from QVC. The bags work by absorbing some of the naturally emitted ethylene gas from the produce, which is what causes ripening to occur. Just be sure to follow the directions and helpful tips that come with the bags. Oh, and the bags are reusable by simply rinsing them out and letting air dry, so it's economical as well. They didn't work as well with bananas, for some reason...the bananas did ripen more slowly but seemed to have a funny taste to them.
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10-11-2006 @10:21AM Bob B. said... Don't forget about bread. Look for the different color twist ties on the package.Same coler ties have the same sale date, find the color that is the freshest.
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10-11-2006 @10:22AM Judy said... Shelley, regarding egg freshness: Put the eggs in a container and add enough water to cover the eggs. If the eggs sit on their sides at the bottom of the container they are fresh. If they stand on end they can still be used for baking. If they float up from the bottom they should not be used.
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10-11-2006 @10:26AM Laura said... There are only 5 products that REQUIRE a sell by date: Milk, chicken, cut fruits, bagged salad products and eggs. That's from the supermarket industry.
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10-11-2006 @10:30AM Pat said... Why do the grocery store dellies never put the correct experation date on the label they print? I never know if I have 5 days until it expires or it is expired already! How can they get away with selling us products if it is close to the experation date? Noone seems to know behind the counter when I order meat or cheese how to answer this. Help me with this please.
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10-11-2006 @10:33AM Tom said... I'll bet most of you are the "germophobs" who posted all the wacky comments about taking Lysol to hotel rooms and such. The expiration dates are simply rough guide lines or estimates of a food's longevity. The biggest factor is how a product is stored. Milk is good until YOU don't like the smell or taste. Nothing can happen to milk regardless of age that can harm you. The bacteria that causes milk to go sour is the same as what makes sour cream or cottage cheese. What do you think cheese is? Cheese never goes bad, cut the mold off. Bread is good till it becomes moldey, not at some magic date. All of those molds on bread or cheese are harmless, as is the bacteria in milk. So, the expiration of bread is when you see mold, with milk it's when it becomes sour.
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10-11-2006 @10:36AM Christie said... If you are in question if your eggs are OK it's simple.If your egg floats in a bowl of water its no good.
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10-11-2006 @10:40AM Pat said... This is for post number 78-Years ago a bread distributor once told me-if you cannot find a legible experation date try using this method. The tags from Sunday through Saturday were color coded. The beginning letter of the colored tag would be the day the bread was appoximately made. B-Blue Monday, O-Orange Tuesday, etc. It was a system used by many of the bread companies for years. Hope it helps.
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10-11-2006 @11:17AM Devynn said... i drink 1% acidolphilous milk and it almost ALWAYS lasts a good week past the posted experation date. but it is a smart idea to keep your fridge AS COLD AS POSSIBLE to avoid spoilage and set easily spoiled products in the back, unless you use them all the time, then put them in the middle. another thing about dates that my family has used as a "rule of thumb" for YEARS: EVERYTHING is good a week beyond the date after you open it. if you opened it a week to days BEFORE the experation date, it's good for about a week. you can keep things in the freezer for up to three mons. after that toss it. if you keep it at three mons EXACTLY or close to it, use it within a week. and if it just smells bad or looks bad or you don't know how long you've had it, TOSS IT! better safe then sorry, esp with all the e.coli issues we've been having lately.
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10-11-2006 @10:50AM Dena said... When in doubt, throw it out!!!!!!!!!!!!
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10-11-2006 @10:55AM AvianMan said... You guys are joking, right? You write on your condiments and milk - or you put a sticker with a label - when you open them? The paranoia is incredible! You honestly can't tell when milk is bad? Maybe we have different milk here in the midwest - mine stinks if it is even close to being bad.
The actual process of souring causes chemical/biological changes within the product that also changes the smell. Use what God gave you, unless, of course, you can't smell.
Refirgerators with any sort of real temperature control and realiability are actually a fairly recent invention, and believe me, we all survived before that. I'm not saying use past the use by date (our supermarket sells meat beyond or on the use by date at 75% off - I'm not dead nor have I ever gotten sick off of it - yeah I said meat)but dont act like it all turns to poison as soon as you have had it open three days. I mean, really - if you use mayo within three days of opening it, even if it is the smallest jar - you need to worry less about the spoil date and more about your cholesterol....
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10-14-2006 @7:21PM Raymond said... Is there a way to interrupt the date codes; that often are at the discretation of the mfg as to how they select their mfg coding system. I believe that all food mfg should have to comply with a universal expiration date,
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10-11-2006 @11:13AM Tony FSM said... Regarding eggs - if they are stored (refrigerated) properly they will be perfectly safe to use long past their expiration date. The main reason for the date on the carton is that older eggs are less visually appealing, becuse the yolk tends to sink into the white when cooked, while a fresher egg will have the yolk floating on top of the white.
Remember the time and temperature rule generally. Bacteria grows between 40 and 140 degrees, fahrenheit. The longer a product is left out of the refrigerator, the longer it may be in the temperature range for bacteria growth.
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10-11-2006 @11:08AM JMW said... I confess that I opened this message expecting to see something about how companies take advantage of the consumer by using "sell/best/use - by" dates to increase sale volume. I know that many companies began to institute this because they realized that the consumer would not use a product beyond its expiration date...and then purchase new product. For perishable items, it's understandable to have a "date", but for some items (water?) I think its just a bit ridiculous. Still, you can't blame the companies. They know what to do to generate more income.
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10-11-2006 @11:17AM mom at home said... as a rule of thumb for milk in our house no one will touch it on the day before exp. due to flavor change, we use whole milk and the fridge is set very cold. I know for experience cardboard cartons do last a lot longer than plastic jugs.
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10-11-2006 @11:26AM Beth said... My mom keeps stuff for decades too. She thinks the freezer-burn on things left in the freezer too long is a "protective coating."
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10-15-2006 @2:49PM sandr pitts said... skim milk spoils faster because of the processing-i was brought up on unpasterized milk straight from the cow would not do that these days even tho the barn is cleaner along with the workers and enviornment-always barn cats and such aroung-stomach juices or what ever you'd like to call them have changed and have a difficult time with milk that is on its last use by date-many "things" contribute to a products break down and a persons ability to consume it it may do me in and give you a lift-each individuale is indivuale
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10-11-2006 @11:53AM Stan said... I was raised (and breast fed) by my grandma,so milk that has not passed it's expiration date tastes funny to me anyway.
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10-11-2006 @12:27PM dawit said... I lov elizebeth h
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