Introduction

• Food science is an Applied Science

Food Waste is Big!

• Every day the average American throws out nearly a pound of food, according to a study from the Department of Agriculture
• There’s more foods in landfills than anything else, and that produces the greenhouse gas methane.

“Expiration Date” you see on foods

• Sell by
• Use by
• “Best If Used By/Before**

Open Dating vs Closed Dating

• Open Dating is found primarily on perishable foods such as meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products
• Closed or coded dating might appear on shelf-stable products such as cans and boxes of food

Sell By Date

• The date set by manufacturers to tell retailers when to remove a product from the shelves
• To ensure that consumers have products at their best quality, which can be several days to several weeks, depending on the item
• For instance, milk, assuming proper refrigeration, should last five to seven days past its sell-by-date before turning sour.

Use By Date

• The last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality
• Date determined by the manufacturer
• Not a safety date except when used on infant formula

Best if Used By (or Before) date

• Recommended for best flavor or quality
• Not purchase date
• For instance, a jar of salsa may not taste as fresh or crackers may be soft instead of crisp after this date. It’s not about safety

Closed or Coded dates

• Packing numbers or codes that are used by the manufacturer to locate and track in the event of recall
• These codes, which appear as a series and/or numbers, might refer to the date or time of manufacture.
• They aren’t meant for the consumer to interpret as “use-by” dates. There is no book or Web site that tells how to translate the codes into dates.
• Cans may also display “open” or calendar dates. Usually these are “best if used by” dates for peak quality

How long can you store canned foods?

General rule of thumb

• Most canned foods (canned tuna, soups, and vegetables) can be stored for two to five years
• High-acid foods (canned juices, tomatoes, pickles) can be stored for a year up to 18 months
• Dents and bulges in cans: a sign it’s time to toss these products

How about frozen foods

• Frozen foods won’t go bad because bacteria and other pathogens can’t grow in frozen temperatures
• This even applies to milk, bread, cheese, and raw eggs (crack and lightly beat them first)

What do we do now?

• Nonperishable items like grains and dried and canned goods can still be used well past their label dates
• Meat, dairy, and eggs: there are still no federally regulated expiration dates on those items, they obviously have shorter shelf lives
• The best way to know whether a perishable food has spoiled is simply to “trust your taste buds and sense of smell”