Posted on 07/22/2022 11:05:11 AM PDT by Red Badger
Florida's outbreak of listeria has so far led to at least one death, 22 hospitalizations and an ice cream recall since January.
Humans get sick with listeria infections, or listeriosis, from eating soil-contaminated food, undercooked meat or dairy products that are raw, or unpasteurized. Listeria can cause convulsions, coma, miscarriage and birth defects. And it's the third leading cause of food poisoning deaths in the US.
Avoiding unseen food hazards is the reason people often check the dates on food packaging. And printed with the month and year is often one of a dizzying array of phrases: "best by," "use by," "best if used before," "best if used by," "guaranteed fresh until," "freeze by" and even a "born on" label applied to some beer.
People think of them as expiration dates, or the date at which a food should go in the trash. But the dates have little to do with when food expires, or becomes less safe to eat. I am a microbiologist and public health researcher, and I have used molecular epidemiology to study the spread of bacteria in food.
A more science-based product dating system could make it easier for people to differentiate foods they can safely eat from those that could be hazardous.
Costly confusion The United States Department of Agriculture reports that in 2020 the average American household spent 12% of its income on food. But a lot of food is simply thrown away, despite being perfectly safe to eat.
The USDA Economic Research Center reports that nearly 31% of all available food is never consumed. Historically high food prices make the problem of waste seem all the more alarming.
The current food labeling system may be to blame for much of the waste. The FDA reports consumer confusion around product dating labels is likely responsible for around 20% of the food wasted in the home, costing an estimated US$161 billion per year.
It's logical to believe that date labels are there for safety reasons, since the federal government enforces rules for including nutrition and ingredient information on food labels.
Passed in 1938 and continuously modified since, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act requires food labels to inform consumers of nutrition and ingredients in packaged foods, including the amount of salt, sugar and fat it contains.
The dates on those food packages, however, are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Rather, they come from food producers. And they may not be based on food safety science.
For example, a food producer may survey consumers in a focus group to pick a "use by" date that is six months after the product was produced because 60% of the focus group no longer liked the taste. Smaller manufacturers of a similar food might play copycat and put the same date on their product.
More interpretations One industry group, the Food Marketing Institute and Grocery Manufacturers Association, suggests that its members mark food "best if used by" to indicate how long the food is safe to eat, and "use by" to indicate when food becomes unsafe.
But using these more nuanced marks is voluntary. And although the recommendation is motivated by a desire to cut down on food waste, it is not yet clear if this recommended change has had any impact.
A joint study by the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic and the National Resources Defense Council recommends the elimination of dates aimed at consumers, citing potential confusion and waste.
Instead, the research suggests manufacturers and distributors use "production" or "pack" dates, along with "sell-by" dates, aimed at supermarkets and other retailers. The dates would indicate to retailers the amount of time a product will remain at high quality.
The FDA considers some products "potentially hazardous foods" if they have characteristics that allow microbes to flourish, like moisture and an abundance of nutrients that feed microbes.
These foods include chicken, milk and sliced tomatoes, all of which have been linked to serious foodborne outbreaks. But there is currently no difference between the date labeling used on these foods and that used on more stable food items.
Scientific formula Infant formula is the only food product with a "use by" date that is both government regulated and scientifically determined. It is routinely lab tested for contamination.
But infant formula also undergoes nutrition tests to determine how long it take the nutrients – particularly protein – to break down. To prevent malnutrition in babies, the "use by" date on baby formula indicates when it's no longer nutritious.
Nutrients in foods are relatively easy to measure. The FDA already does this regularly. The agency issues warnings to food producers when the nutrient contents listed on their labels don't match what FDA's lab finds.
Microbial studies, like the ones we food safety researchers work on, are also a scientific approach to meaningful date labeling on foods. In our lab, a microbial study might involve leaving a perishable food out to spoil and measuring how much bacteria grows in it over time.
Scientists also do another kind of microbial study by watching how long it takes microbes like listeria to grow to dangerous levels after intentionally adding the microbes to food to watch what they do, noting such details as growth in the amount of bacteria over time and [when there's enough to cause illness].
Consumers on their own Determining the shelf life of food with scientific data on both its nutrition and its safety could drastically decrease waste and save money as food gets more expensive.
But in the absence of a uniform food dating system, consumers could rely on their eyes and noses, deciding to discard the fuzzy bread, green cheese or off-smelling bag of salad.
People could also might pay close attention to the dates for more perishable foods, like cold cuts, in which microbes grow easily. They can also find guidance at FoodSafety.gov. Jill Roberts, Associate Professor of Global Health, University of South Florida
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
“JUST PUT THE KALE IN A POT FULL OF TURNIP GREENS, COLLARDS OR MUSTARD GREENS AND IT ILL BE FINE..........................”
As long as you don’t forget the side of Fatback.
I don’t call them “date labels”. I call them “lawyer dates”.
Rush had Undeniable Truths of Life, and I have a similar list.
Just after “Never listen to Larry Mondello”, comes, “If there’s something STUPID going on, there’s a lawyer or a tax man involved somewhere.” (Congressmen/Senators are BOTH.)
Well pretty much anything organic; as for pasta, if it’s gray you toss it.
Well, except for mushrooms.
Still waiting on my first ripe tomato!
Grow your own (veggies and meat critters) whenever you can. :)
P.S. Shop the perimeter of your grocery store.
Stay out of the middle aisles where the FrankenFoods live...forever!
Eat as close to the DIRT as you can, Listeria be d@mned! ;)
Shop local. Love Your Farmers! :)
Hmmm, yeah. So how do you know?
“If the can is not puffy it is safe to eat”
Had a can of tomatoes explode in my pantry once. What a mess.
Expiration dates on tomato base can goods is the only one I take seriously.
I use local farms as much as possible (and farm eggs are available year round). Farmer markets tend to be overpriced, we go directly to the farm stands at the farms themselves.
>>frozen eggs
Absolutely agree. When the lockdown started, I froze eggs and milk. Total disaster. Wouldn’t touch any of them after trying the first defrost.
When storing foods long term, they should have less than 10% moisture. Storing high moisture or high fat foods long term is a good way to get seriously poisoned.
Here are some of the foods I store in canning jars and/or mylar bags - both with oxygen absorbers and desiccants:
*dried pasta
*dehydrated potato slices (cheap hint: buy the house brand of scalloped potatoes , toss the cheese sauce packet, and store in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers - same as the long term ones you buy online but a LOT cheaper)
*instant mashed potato flakes (no fat or flavoring added!)
*dried beans
*white rice
Low acid canned stuff lasts years longer than the “best buy” date.
That’s goes without saying!..................
That would be the case for any acidic food.
The acid can eat away at the can lining and then the can. It’s called detinning and the metallic taste is terrible. I actually encountered some maple syrup that did that. Now when we buy maple syrup, we get a gallon (best price option) and I heat it up to boiling and then can it into pint canning jars and seal it with hot lids then just let it cool. I don’t even process is as the sugar content of the syrup means the temperature is plenty hot enough.
The maple syrup keep indefinitely that way and has never crystalized on me.
Home canning in glass canning jars takes care of that problem.
BTTT!!!!
I’m not looking at anything but my cell phone. Does that mean nothing else exists? Really?
Quantum mechanics must have a few loose screws.
Yes (its the PH), and heat any old food well.
That is so pre-Great Reset of you!
So how nutritious is it one day before the "use by" date? 100%? 50%? 1%?
Mark
A product I was working on was originally supplied in a vial of water. After about a year it was mush.
So I reworked the entire process with a new molding process, lyophilization and foil barrier pouch. We get a 4 year expiration date on it.
Yes, you have to have the aluminized film because it is an absolute barrier to moisture.
I packaging engineering we had to calculate the amount of time a carbonated beverage would last in a plastic bottle before going flat. It was only a few months. In a can it lasts years.
Most of it is common sense and there are multiple sites explaining best by etc etc.. Touch, smell and instinct are your best friends.
I totally clean out my freezer in by fall, eating every last bit....and start again.
You can freeze just about everything. My favorite is Chicken French....imagine saying ahhhh think I'll have Chicken French for lunch...and 10 minutes later...to die for.
Another tip...I cut lemons into wedges and freeze...so nice to always have on hand.
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