Taken from the USDA.GOV:
"What Date-Labeling Phrases are Used?
There are no uniform or universally accepted descriptions used on food labels for open dating in the United States. As a result, there are a wide variety of phrases used on labels to describe quality dates.
Examples of commonly used phrases:
A "Best if Used By/Before" date indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
A "Sell-By" date tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management. It is not a safety date.
A “Use-By" date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. It is not a safety date except for when used on infant formula as described below.
A “Freeze-By” date indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality. It is not a purchase or safety date."
What Date-Labeling Phrase does FSIS Recommend?
USDA estimates that 30 percent of the food supply is lost or wasted at the retail and consumer levels3. One source of food waste arises from consumers or retailers throwing away wholesome food because of confusion about the meaning of dates displayed on the label. To reduce consumer confusion and wasted food, FSIS recommends that food manufacturers and retailers that apply product dating use a “Best if Used By” date. Research shows that this phrase conveys to consumers that the product will be of best quality if used by the calendar date shown. Foods not exhibiting signs of spoilage should be wholesome and may be sold, purchased, donated and consumed ***beyond*** the labeled "Best if Used By" date.
Are Foods Safe to Eat After the Date Passes?
With an exception of infant formula (described below), if the date passes during home storage, a product should still be safe and wholesome if handled properly until the time spoilage is evident (Chill Refrigerate Promptly). Spoiled foods will develop an off odor, flavor or texture due to naturally occurring spoilage bacteria. If a food has developed such spoilage characteristics, it should not be eaten.
Microorganisms such as molds, yeasts, and bacteria can multiply and cause food to spoil. Viruses are not capable of growing in food and do not cause spoilage. There are two types of bacteria that can be found on food: pathogenic bacteria, which cause foodborne illness, and spoilage bacteria, which do not cause illness but do cause foods to deteriorate and develop unpleasant characteristics such as an undesirable taste or odor making the food not wholesome. When spoilage bacteria have nutrients (food), moisture, time, and favorable temperatures, these conditions will allow the bacteria to grow rapidly and affect the quality of the food. Food spoilage can occur much faster if food is not stored or handled properly. A change in the color of meat or poultry is not an indicator of spoilage (The Color of Meat and Poultry).
Check out the whole government site. It really tells you the truth of the thing.
*Apologies: for some reason when I c/p the two sections it did so using a big white highlight on one section and my buggy phone app wouldn't let me correct it .
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As you can see, these phrases "best by, use by" etc. do not have anything to do with food safety, health, or ecological, sustainable food consumption. These industry phrases are about marketing a food product to highlight when it's at it's peak ***taste*** because that will ensure a primo epicurean[A] experience which'll keep us excitedly coming back for more; thus, supporting the likelihood of greater profits for the food manufacturers. It's gotten us Americans hooked on this idea of gastro-refinement, not safety standards or codes or simply decent food that supports life. It encourages a relationship to food like a haughty king or queen might have once had: if something merely displeases the senses slightly, it was tossed out or sent to the guillotine! This is incredibly self-indulgent and wasteful. But we didn't do it or encourage this practice knowingly or on purpose. The American people have been duped by the for-profit food industry.
So, the point of this post is not make you think that all "foodie" inclinations must cease immediately or completely. I, myself, unfortunately let good food go to waste sometimes, when I could have consumed it and I love eating out when I can and I don't always buy surplus food. This info is just eye-opening and can help start to make us better, more conscientious food consumers who waste less.
It'd be great if eventually the whole country got hip to these deceptive mislabels on food products. We would therefore be able to collectively create better consumer habits and overturn this industry practice altogether. We deserve for our food to be labeled with data telling us when it is actually unsafe to eat so we can make the most of our food and not toss it out unless it would actually harm us to ingest.
Note: As for how I warned you guys about the expiration dates on our Thanksgiving food, I was merely wanting to air on the side of caution because it's a special holiday feast and also, I hadn't gotten a chance to spell all this out with five-senses precision so you would know for sure what I was talking about. Going forward, if we ever do any shared meals again, we are all welcome to play around with such "expiration" dates. Of course, I would leave it up to everyone's individual best judgment whether you want to eat something past it's date since you're the person actually there with the food in your hands, assessing it.
[A] Epicurean
- fond of or adapted to luxury or indulgence in sensual pleasures; having luxurious tastes or habits, especially in eating and drinking.
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