A Pop Quiz to Test Your Food Safety Knowledge:
Imagine you pull a chicken from your fridge to prepare for dinner, only to realize that yesterday was the Sell By date. What should you do?
- Throw it away because not many emergency rooms offer a stomach pumping family plan.
- Cook it to an internal temperature of at least 195 F to kill the salmonella and serve it with a pungent sauce to mask any residual foul odor.
- Relax. You and the supermarket have complied with Food and Drug Administration regulations that require this chicken to be sold before the date on the label.
- Refuse to answer, assuming this must be some kind of trick question.
If you selected option D, congratulations! This indeed is a tricky question. And that’s the perfect way to introduce an article on confusing product dates.
Now, let’s dive into the details. Option C would have been correct if not for the mention of regulations. Contrary to popular belief, apart from infant formula and certain baby foods, there are no federal regulations requiring food manufacturers to label their products with dates. Rather, product dating is merely a convenience offered to store owners by the manufacturers.
Interestingly, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, while speaking at a Food Waste Summit in Washington D.C., shared an anecdote about his adult son cleaning out their fridge and discarding everything that had passed its package date, even if it was frozen. This story highlights the confusion surrounding these dates.
In fact, a survey conducted by the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic found that nearly 85 percent of people admitted to throwing out food solely based on the date printed on the package.
While 20 states do require the dating of certain products, the decision to include dates rests with the manufacturers and processors. Furthermore, stores are not legally obligated to remove expired products from their shelves. Ultimately, it is up to consumers to ensure they are purchasing the freshest goods.
In conclusion, always remember that fresher food is not only better in terms of quality but also allows for a longer shelf life at home. When shopping, be cautious and read the labels carefully. Pro tip: In well-maintained stores, the freshest items are typically located at the back of the shelf or underneath older products.