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California bans sell-by dates

foodandwine.com

161–170 of 288 posts

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#161
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those cheap plastic water bottles should be banned. They’re one of the greatest sources of micro plastics in our bodies. (Not to mention unstudied nano plastics)

They can't be anywhere even close to synthetic textiles.

Or car tires..

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#162
post #140
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those cheap plastic water bottles should be banned. They’re one of the greatest sources of micro plastics in our bodies. (Not to mention unstudied nano plastics)

I don’t personally normally buy bottled water but the alternative is probably to go back to glass which means higher consumer prices, increased fossil fuel consumption for transportation, etc.

Why not aluminum cans? There's still some plastic in there, but you can mostly recycle them, they must be fairly cheap, and they're quite light. As an added benefit they stack higher in transit with less extra packaging, at least if they're shipped like beer.

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#163
A requirement that the "best by" or "use by" date be clearly visible would also help.

I've spent way too much time spinning packages scanning for any date, sometimes having to give up, sometimes having to whip out my phone's camera to try to discern tiny black print on dark blue background, in small font, partly malformed, ...

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does washing eggs extend shelf life? Let's say I have unwashed eggs and washed eggs, and I put both in the refrigerator. Won't the unwashed ones last longer, because they haven't had the natural protective coating removed?

The washed ones last because you washed off all the hen house bacteria, and then kept it refrigerated so new bacteria wouldn’t grow. Chickens, especially commercial poultry farms, are disgusting .

I get that washing off bacteria does something good. But it also makes the egg more vulnerable to any remaining bacteria.

If both types are refrigerated, I wonder which effect dominates?

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#165
post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in Europe it's forbidden to sell washed eggs, so you're literally buying eggs covered in chicken shit, it's an interesting regulatory divergence.

If you’re buying eggs covered in excrement, that’s on you. That’s what the law is for: for the seller and producer not being able to hide the awful conditions in which the eggs were produced. If you want clean eggs, buy clean eggs , which will then necessarily have been produced in a clean environment, more healthy for the chickens, and also with less risk of contaminated eggs.

Exactly this. I have chickens and when I collect the eggs they are usually completely clean. Only if I start to slack on cleaning the coop or one of the chickens gets sick do the eggs get dirty.

I can imagine most eggs sold in the United States would be horrifying if not washed.

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife does the same thing, and I've been unable to convince her. Not talking perishable stuff, either - she'll throw out something like a bottle of hot sauce because it is a few months past the "best by" date. No matter how much I try to tell her that these things are shelf stable and will be good for even a year or more after the date, she doesn't believe me. I think that the show Kim's Convenience said it perfect…

Hot Sauce is kind of annoying because it lasts so long after the best by dates. Like it could just be kicking around in then fridge for a couple years and not grow anything on it, but it is probably time to toss it out eventually?

Many hot sauces are so acidic they’re pretty much a preservative!

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#167
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That isn't most, and I mentioned synthetic chemicals & preservatives.

Pretty much all oils are processed foods. Vinegar is a preservative and is a processed food. Most salts are processed and are common preservatives. Flour is a processed food. The reasons why Twinkies are so shelf stable are largely the same reasons why flour or rice or olive oil is shelf stable. Better be careful of those chemicals like sodium chloride and dihydrogen monoxide.

I think it’s the same as “chemical”. When something’s bad, it’s a chemical. When something’s good, it’s not.

I.e. nobody knows what “processed” means, they just know it’s bad somehow.

(Re-post of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27397900>)

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#168
I'm glad I don't live in California. How are you supposed to know if you have milk that will quickly go bad etc.? While some of this can cause waste, many food items do start to go bad after they sit on the shelves too long. That said I'm sure the people behind this would prefer that you don't buy dairy and that you pick the mold off your bread and eat the rest. Thanks, but no thanks.

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#169

I'm glad I don't live in California. How are you supposed to know if you have milk that will quickly go bad etc.? While some of this can cause waste, many food items do start to go bad after they sit on the shelves too long. That said I'm sure the people behind this would prefer that you don't buy dairy and that you pick the mold off your bread and eat the rest. Thanks, but no thanks.

From the first paragraph:

“must state “Best if Used By” to indicate peak quality, and “Use By” to designate food safety”

Re: California bans sell-by dates

#170

I'm glad I don't live in California. How are you supposed to know if you have milk that will quickly go bad etc.? While some of this can cause waste, many food items do start to go bad after they sit on the shelves too long. That said I'm sure the people behind this would prefer that you don't buy dairy and that you pick the mold off your bread and eat the rest. Thanks, but no thanks.

How are you supposed to know if you have milk that will quickly go bad etc.?

From the article:

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.

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