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California bans sell-by dates

foodandwine.com

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Re: California bans sell-by dates

#51

Post by slicktux »

LeFantome wrote: post #11

This all makes massive sense to me. The people in my life treat any date on food as an expiry date and throw out massive amounts of perfectly edible food. Also, people do not seem to have any concept about the rate at which different food products spoil. Some things can be used way past the dates I see. Others really are going off by then.

Yes, you can safely eat food after “Best of used by” date but one has to keep in mind that there are chemical processes in place; one such example is rate of oxidation of food oils…one is literally eating highly oxidative food like chips but more so if it’s been sitting for a while. Though not obvious, but the damage it’s doing to your bodies cells can be pretty bad.

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#52

Post by hentrep »

Here’s the actual USDA article describing the difference between “sell by, “use by”, and “best by” terms: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-...

I don’t have time to find a source that supports this, but I understand that these dates also refer to the durability of the “food safe” container/packaging. Ever drink water from an unopened plastic bottle that has been stored for awhile? That taste is not from the water decaying or otherwise breaking down.

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#53

Post by etrautmann »

brightball wrote: post #45
tivert wrote: post #41

> To adhere with the requisite language outlined, any food products with a date label — with the exception of infant formula, eggs, beer, and malt beverages — must state “Best if Used By” to indicate peak quality, and “Use By” to designate food safety. "Use by" is dumb, it's too close to "Best if Used By." If there's a safety issue, the term should be "expires", "expires on", or something like that.

I remember seeing a sell by date on salt. It was at that moment that I started questioning the process.

As another poster mentioned, it likely refers to the packaging - either degredation of materials used or the effect that has on the contents (moisture ingress, oxidation, etc).

For salt, that seems somewhat silly, but not enough to make me fundamentally distrust the rationale

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#54

Post by nsxwolf »

Simulacra wrote: post #48
tivert wrote: post #41

> To adhere with the requisite language outlined, any food products with a date label — with the exception of infant formula, eggs, beer, and malt beverages — must state “Best if Used By” to indicate peak quality, and “Use By” to designate food safety. "Use by" is dumb, it's too close to "Best if Used By." If there's a safety issue, the term should be "expires", "expires on", or something like that.

I think people will adjust to the new language but not update their schemas, which means their behavior will not change.

"UNSAFE TO USE AFTER"

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#55

Post by nick3443 »

etrautmann wrote: post #53
brightball wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember seeing a sell by date on salt. It was at that moment that I started questioning the process.

As another poster mentioned, it likely refers to the packaging - either degredation of materials used or the effect that has on the contents (moisture ingress, oxidation, etc). For salt, that seems somewhat silly, but not enough to make me fundamentally distrust the rationale

Sell by is entirely unrelated to quality though. It's just how often they think they can get away with. Like the recommendation on a box of baking soda... Put it in your fridge and change it every 30 days. No thanks.

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#56

Post by SoftTalker »

slicktux wrote: post #51
LeFantome wrote: post #11

This all makes massive sense to me. The people in my life treat any date on food as an expiry date and throw out massive amounts of perfectly edible food. Also, people do not seem to have any concept about the rate at which different food products spoil. Some things can be used way past the dates I see. Others really are going off by then.

Yes, you can safely eat food after “Best of used by” date but one has to keep in mind that there are chemical processes in place; one such example is rate of oxidation of food oils…one is literally eating highly oxidative food like chips but more so if it’s been sitting for a while. Though not obvious, but the damage it’s doing to your bodies cells can be pretty bad.

Just avoid those types of foods altogether.

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#57

Post by ricardobeat »

nick3443 wrote: post #55
etrautmann wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As another poster mentioned, it likely refers to the packaging - either degredation of materials used or the effect that has on the contents (moisture ingress, oxidation, etc). For salt, that seems somewhat silly, but not enough to make me fundamentally distrust the rationale

Sell by is entirely unrelated to quality though. It's just how often they think they can get away with. Like the recommendation on a box of baking soda... Put it in your fridge and change it every 30 days. No thanks.

Pretty sure that’s the recommendation to deodorize your fridge, not related to the baking soda’s shelf life. The other side of the box says “keep in a cool and dark place”.

It does seem to go “flat” after a few months regardless, even when the expiry date is 2 years in the future.

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#59

Post by maxerickson »

nick3443 wrote: post #55
etrautmann wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As another poster mentioned, it likely refers to the packaging - either degredation of materials used or the effect that has on the contents (moisture ingress, oxidation, etc). For salt, that seems somewhat silly, but not enough to make me fundamentally distrust the rationale

Sell by is entirely unrelated to quality though. It's just how often they think they can get away with. Like the recommendation on a box of baking soda... Put it in your fridge and change it every 30 days. No thanks.

It's not how long they can get away with, it's how long they are willing to listen to complaints about it.

A sell by date makes perfect sense on salt. No packager wants to be responsible for material that sat on someone else's shelf for years and years.

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