Best Before......

Interesting article in our local paper on best before dating of food.

Many people are unclear on the meaning - some think that you must consume the food by that date or throw it away (though how it was OK yesterday and supposedly toxic today doesn't seem to concern them) Apparently a, lot of food gets tossed out because it is a day past the date on the label, and these labels are applied to some foods like honey and dry sugar that are pretty much good indefinitely sitting on the shelf. One has to wonder how much food is wasted because people toss it when they notice it is a day past the date on the label, on the assumption that it somehow became toxic at midnight that day. I guess using your senses to smell or taste to get addition data in deciding whether a given food is edible is now passé....?

The author said that he had even seen best before dates on boxes of salt!

I can think of a couple of possible reasons why a producer might put a "best before" date on something like salt

o Company policy to put "best before" dates on all products, in order to limit legal liability. Requiring it for all products is easier and less error-prone.

o Someone in the distribution chain (such as the eventual retail store) requires it.

The supermarket I frequent puts a "sell by" date on their perishable products such as meat, fish, poultry, produce, and packaged meats/fish (bacon, sausages, etc.). Many canned and packaged goods do come with a "best before" date.

-Paul W.

And, don't forget: if you put a date on the product and that date passes, the customer is encouraged therefore to go buy more product.

Best buy dates are for marketing purposes. Common sense will tell you about meats, veggies, etc. I have used canned and jarred products one or two years past the best-by date, and they are fine.

Certainly, much of it is motivated by legalese CYA policy. However, most canned and frozen goods will slowly decline in quality even when properly stored. I doubt that there's any danger to long storage, but they may not taste as fresh as they once did. It reminds me of the question so often asked on wine fora by noobs: "I found this bottle of 1968 Gallo Hearty Burgundy in my parents' kitchen. Is it dangerous to drink?"

It reminds me of the question so often asked on wine fora by noobs: "I found this bottle of 1968 Gallo Hearty Burgundy in my parents' kitchen. Is it dangerous to drink?"

I would answer, "No more so than when it was first released."

-Paul W.

I know people who think products kind of turn poisonous at midnight of the best by date and throw them out.

It reminds me of the question so often asked on wine fora by noobs: "I found this bottle of 1968 Gallo Hearty Burgundy in my parents' kitchen. Is it dangerous to drink?"

I would answer, "No more so than when it was first released."

-Paul W.

From back in that era, it was "one part Dry Creek Zinfandel to ten parts Thompson seedless"