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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Ensuring enough food to feed our growing population is a global challenge, yet it is estimated that every year over 133 billion pounds of food is wasted. Reducing this high volume of food waste could go a long way toward a world-wide sustainable food system. Your refrigerator counts. In developed countries 10% to 30% of household food is thrown away.
Wasting some food is inevitable because food is perishable. In developing countries more food is lost at the farm end of the system due to climate variation, pest infestation, and limited equipment to store and transport food. In developed countries more food is wasted at the retail and household end of the chain. Grocery stores discard blemished, though edible, food. Sales such as buy-1-get-1-free and oversized packages encourage overbuying which often leads to discarded food. Restaurants serve huge portions and may offer unlimited refills on bread, salads and drinks, a good deal of which is left at the end of the meal.
There is a difference between throwing away a little milk at the bottom of a cereal bowl and dumping a half gallon of milk because it is one day past its sell by date. Food dating can create food waste. Over 75% of US consumers believe that a food is unsafe to eat once the date printed on the package has passed. Not true!
There is no uniform system for food dating in the US. Twenty states require dating of some foods, but in other areas of the country there are few regulations and some areas require no food dating at all. Except for infant formula, food dating is not generally required by the Federal government.
Many food companies include freshness dating on package which is why you now see dates on water and soda bottles. These dates give the consumer a relative idea about the freshness of the food. But research has shown that freshness dates often backfire on sales. When asked to taste a product near the end of its freshness life, consumers rate the food as having poor quality – whether the food was actually at the end of its freshness life, or if the researchers manipulated the date for the study. If people think a product is fresh, they rate it fresh. If they believe the product is less fresh, they rate the taste as poorer or stale. The driver of these decisions is the date not the actual quality of the food.
A variation of freshness dating is Best If Used By. These dates are found on cereal boxes, crackers, mayonnaise and other shelf-stable food. They are not food safety dates but the manufacturer’s recommended time span for best flavor and quality. If a food is stored properly, eating it after the Best If Used By date is not an issue. Use common sense, a few weeks past the date is fine. Months or even years past the Best If Used By date, throw the food away.
Use Before freshness dates are slightly different. Again, they are the food company’s recommendation. Use Before dates are found on cream cheese, prepared puddings, cottage cheese, yogurt and eggs. If stored correctly most of these foods can be eaten safely for a week to 10 days after this date. Eggs are the exception. Eggs can safely be eaten 3 to 5 weeks after the Use Before date. The only difference you will see is that the yolk will break more easily, the yolk and white will be harder to separate, and the egg white will be runnier but the egg is safe and the nutrition quality is intact.
Sell By dates are either a local or state regulation or they may be set by the food company. They tell the store how long to keep a food on the shelf. Bread, milk, poultry and cheese often have Sell By dates. Many of these foods are donated to food pantries when removed from the retail shelf.
Some cans, jars and boxes display packing codes. These may be a series of letters and numbers, such as 1468 12:00 PM OHOS/24/16, which enable tracking in interstate commerce. Packing codes are used in the event of a food recall. Regardless of what you may have been told these dates are individual to a food company and there is no universal system to decode the numbers.
Close to one-third of the world’s food is wasted. This waste has both an environmental and economic impact. Check your frig every 3 days to use up leftovers. Check your pantry every 3 months for lost items pushed to the back of the shelf. Don’t over shop. Most important, think before you dump.
For more information about sustainable eating you might want to take a look at one of my latest eBooks, the Healthy Wholefoods Counter available from iTunes or Amazon/Kindle.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of 30 books. Available as eBooks from iTunes and Kindle/Amazon:
Diabetes Counter
Calorie Counter
Protein Counter
Healthy Wholefoods Counter
Complete Food Counter
Fat and Cholesterol Counter
Available in print from Gallery Books:
Most Complete Food Counter, 3rd Ed.
Your Complete Food Counter App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/your-complete-food-counter/id444558777?mt=8
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to: www.TheNutritionExperts.com.
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