Enjoy

“Enjoy life. It has an expiration date.” (Zayn Malik)

The label on the eggs in your refrigerator says “best by” yesterday’s date. Is it safe to make one last fried egg with buttered toast? You hate to waste the eggs, but you also don’t want to get sick. You’ll see dates on many perishable foods such as meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products. You might be surprised to learn that they aren’t usually about food safety.  According to the  United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service, manufacturers put “best by” or “best if used by” dates on their products to let retail stores and consumers know how long their products are expected to maintain their best taste and texture.

These dates aren’t required by federal law (though some states require them) and don’t necessarily indicate a product’s safety (with the exception of baby formula). Perishable products are usually safe to consume beyond their “best by” date if they’ve been handled and stored properly. But there’s no definite rule. It’s ultimately up to you to decide whether it’s a good idea to go ahead and make that fried egg, or to toss the eggs and opt for a bowl of oatmeal instead. Check your food for these reliable signs of spoilage: smells bad, is moldy, has a different texture than you would expect, or has an unpleasant taste. Here are some general guidelines for freshness. These items should be safe in the refrigerator (or pantry) for the following amount of time:

·         Canned fruit: 12 to 18 months, or 5 to 7 days in the refrigerator after opening

·         Cooked meat/poultry: 3-4 days

·         Dry pasta: 1-2 years

·         Eggs: 3-5 weeks (Store eggs in the back of the refrigerator where the temperature is coldest.)

·         Fresh poultry: 1-2 days

·         Ground meat/poultry: 1-2 days

·         Lunch meat: 2 weeks unopened, or 3-5 days opened

·         Milk: 7 days (Keep milk in the back of the refrigerator, where temperature is typically coldest.)

·         Rice and dried pasta: 2 years, or 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator after cooking

·         Steaks: 3-5 days

If you aren’t going to be able to eat something in your refrigerator before it goes bad, consider tossing it in the freezer. You can safely freeze almost any food at or below zero degrees Fahrenheit with the exception of canned food and eggs in their shell. It will not significantly reduce the amount of nutrients in that food.

To preserve the food’s quality as much as possible, wrap it in heavy-duty aluminum foil, or airtight freezer bags. If your food becomes freezer-burnt that doesn’t mean it’s unsafe to eat. Simply cut the freezer-burnt portions away before you cook the food. For the best quality, recommended freezer shelf life is:

·         Chicken or turkey (whole): 1 year.

·         Hamburger and other ground meats: 3-4 months.

·         Lunch meat: 1-2 months.

·         Soups and stews: 2-3 months.

Some foods with a longer shelf life and that are critical to nutrition must carry expiration dates. These foods include meal replacements, nutritional supplements, infant formulas, and formulated liquid diets, which should not be consumed after the date on the label has passed. Food date labels aren’t expiration dates:

·         It’s important to check for spoilage to determine if you should consume something.

·         Some foods may still be safe to eat after the use-by date.

·         Storing foods at the proper temperature and keeping track of shelf life can also help.

·         They actually indicate when a product has reached its peak quality or flavor.

According to the USDA, Americans waste about 30 to 40 percent of the U.S. food supply. That’s 39 million tons of food each year. What’s perhaps even more appalling to us is that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates about 95 percent of that discarded food ends up in our landfills.

Since there’s no national standard about date labels and food safety, manufacturers use various phrases that mean the same or similar things. The next time you’re cleaning out your pantry, refer to this cheat sheet to help you decipher those labels.

·         Best by, use by or best if used by: These phrases indicate the last date when an item will be at peak quality or flavor. The date is determined by the food manufacturer. Products may still be safe to eat after this date.

·         Packed on or closed on: This is when an item was packaged, sealed or canned. These dates are usually used to help retailers track stock and also pull items in case of a recall.

·         Sell by or pull by: This tells retailers the last date an item can be sold or displayed on shelves. Products may still be safe to consume after this date. Some states, including Washington, allow stores to sell or donate products that have reached this date but are not yet spoiled.

Ways to keep your food safe:

·        Always store your food at the proper temperature. Certain websites provide useful reference charts for how long to store your food and at what temperatures. (Try the FoodKeeper app, which will track the shelf life and freshness time frames for every food imaginable. You can even add items to your calendar and receive alerts on your phone when a food will go bad.

·        Another simple way to track food’s freshness and unnecessary waste is to practice the “first in, first out” method. When putting things away after a grocery run, move older items to the front of your refrigerator (or pantry), and put newer items in the back. That way, you’ll be more likely to include soon-to-expire items in your meal planning (or cooking).

·        Keep containers covered in the refrigerator. Always wipe up spills especially from thawed meats to help reduce the spread of bacteria. After your grocery store trips, put away perishable items as quickly as possible. The same applies to leftovers, which shouldn’t be left out for longer than two hours.

·        Refrigerators should be no warmer than 40 degrees Fahrenheit, while freezers should be kept at a chilly zero degrees. An inexpensive thermometer is an easy way to monitor this.

“Your dream doesn’t have an expiration date. Take a deep breath and try again.” (KT Witten) [i]

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[i] Sources used:

·        “5 things you should know about food expiry dates” by CBC

·     “Those Food Expiration Dates Don’t Mean What You Think They Do” By Angela Cabotaje  

·        “Trash It or Eat It? The Truth about Expiration Dates” by healthessentials

·        “United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)” by Investopedia