Does the expiration date on the jug of milk or carton of eggs or package of American cheese really mean anything? Is the food really not edible once you hit that date? In fact, it is likely that all of these dates on food packaging actually mean absolutely nothing at all.
That, at least, is according to Dana Gunders who is a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. He says that, “Most people think that expiration dates tell you when food is spoiled or unsafe. In fact, what it usually tells you is the manufacturer’s recommendation for when the food is at peak quality. There’s no exact science behind the practice.”
Most states have their own system for putting dates on food and most of the systems are just arbitrary. So, Congress has decided to step in a try and do something about it. There is legislation being proposed known as the Food Date Labeling Act and is making the rounds because Congress believes that 40% of food in the country gets tossed because of the dates. The Act looks to tell people when the food is at it’s peak and when it is suggested that it is no longer any good to eat.
It seems there is a huge amount of food that gets thrown away that is still good and could be donated to feed people who could use the food. The plan for the legislation is to have a label that says “best if used by” so people can know when it is at its most fresh and so be able to determine what they will do with it. The new labels would also have a definitive expiration date where it would be recommended that the food not be eaten past that date.
Harvard did a study back in 2013 and discovered that nearly 90% of Americans toss their food when it reaches the date on the label. It has been estimated by some sources that Americans discard 160 billion pounds of food every year.
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