INTERPRETING DATES AND DATING ON FOOD PACKAGES
Prior to the mid 1980s food packages were generally date-coded for the use of the manufacturer and retailer for stock rotation, and tracebacks when a complaint was found. When consumers were able to read the "open-dating" on food, several important changes occurred:
1: Manufacturers' "best-before" dates (suggesting "peak" quality, taste, appearance, etc.,) became mis-interpreted as "expiry" dates, 2: Shelf-items with the longest BB date were selected leaving slightly older but still with 100% quality were left behind. 3: The overall effect was increased food waste at the retail level (due to unsold product), and increased food waste at the consumer level (due to erroneously discarding foods that were considered "expired"). 4: The consumer ended up paying for the wasted foods, either directly or indirectly, with little or no actual health or safety benefit, except to the manufacturers who were able willing to make and sell more product.
(Click on the question to reach the answer)
Q: How long is canned food good for past the 'expiry' date?
Q: If my bread is shown to expire on Sunday, is that in the morning or at midnight?
Q: The supermarket is selling 'expired' canned food at a reduced price. Is this legal?
Q: I have seen the supermarket re-date expired packaged meat and fish. Is this illegal?
Q: I have an unopened bottle of salad dressing that is nearly "expired". should I throw it out?
Q: How long is canned food good for past the 'expiry' date?
A: Look again. The date is almost invariably a "best-before" date or a "sell-by" date. The only foods required to show a date by which time if not eaten it should be discarded (an expiry date) is baby food. The reality is that any food may become injurious or dangerous to consume, whether or not it has reached any date shown, if the package has been damaged, temperature abused in some way, or has been contaminated. If the package of sliced ham was left in the back of the car on the way home for an afternoon it may be inedible even though it has two weeks left on the best-before date. On the other hand, numerous dry foods, canned foods, or frozen foods, may be 100% perfect for much longer than any date would suggest. Learn to examine the food and the package and not rely just on a date.
Having said that, I suggest that vacuum-wrapped cold cuts should not be relied upon to be safe beyond the date shown because of the rare but unpleasant bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, which grows very slowly, but can cause serious illness in the elderly or immunocompromised.
Q: If my bread is shown to expire on Sunday, is that in the morning or at midnight?
A: Nothing happens to food at the moment the "date" is reached! It is a manufacturer's suggested date at which the peak of freshness is expected to have been reached, beyond which, the quality may decline. A date on the sliced bread has nothing to do with safety or health, in fact if you place the bread in the refrigerator, it becomes 'stale' faster, and if you leave it out still wrapped in plastic it may develop molds in warm weather in about a week, ALL REGARDLESS of any date shown.
Q: The supermarket is selling 'expired' canned food at a reduced price. Is this legal?
A: These are not "expiry dates" with the exception of baby foods. They are simply suggestions as to when the product is still considered to be at its peak condition or quality. With the exception of cold-cut meats, there is no health or safety implications in best-before dates. A can of peaches may remain in perfect condition for a couple of years beyond the "date". On the other hand, if severely dented, especially across a seam in the can, electrolysis and hydrogen swell can occur even before the date shown.
Q: I have seen the supermarket re-date expired packaged meat and fish. Is this illegal?
A: A retailer with raw meat or raw fish in a display counter can package these items if they are still in excellent condition, sometimes with added coatings, or marinades, and reduce the price ready for the weekend trade. Similarly, packages of raw meats foods can be re-wrapped and re-dated if still in excellent condition. There is nothing illegal about this, although company policy may provide guidance. If this seems odd, consider that large wholesale packages of pork chops, ground beef, chicken livers, or steaks do not carry a "best before" date, and when repacked at retail level for the customer's display it is the department manager who decides which date is to be shown.
Q: I have a package of cold cuts, still within the "date" but it is showing a grey/green colour and the product is "loose" inside the plastic. Is it still safe to eat?
A: This happens not infrequently. The "looseness" of the sliced meat products gives you a clue. Either the vacuum package has been punctured somehow during manufacture, transport or retail, allowing air to enter and bacterial spoilage to begin, or some form of bacterial contamination before packaging has occurred, and the cold-temperature spoilage includes gases and discoloration. In either case, the meat should not be consumed. It may be sour, smelly and harmless but you can not be certain, so with cooked meats always discard to be on the safe side. Notice this may have nothing whatsoever to do with the a best-before date which might still be valid. Learn to recognize suspicious characteristics in food.
Q: I have an unopened bottle of salad dressing that is nearly expired. Should I throw it out?
A: Forget the best-before date (it's not an "expiry date" in any case). Open the bottle and check the contents. The only thing that can occur with salad dressing - especially an unopened one, is that the oils may have started to oxidise, as all vegetable oils will eventually. Have a sniff, then a taste. If oxidation (which is harmless by the way) has started, there will be a "soapy" or "cardboard" taste and smell. It's probably not a pleasant thing to add to your salad so it's best to discard it. This applies even more to opened bottles of sauces, oils, and dressings. Over time, the oils combine with oxygen (more likely of course in the opened jar), and this rancid taste can easily be detected.