Written By: Jeanie Chang
Photo via moneywise.co.uk
Are you wise about your family’s grocery purchases? What I mean is do you finish products such as milk, eggs, bread before the expiration dates? Our family wastes so much food that it’s so shameful! After reading an article on the meaning behind food expiration dates, I feel somewhat better knowing other families waste food as well. The article says that the average family of four discards around $600 worth of groceries every year. We’re definitely in that ballpark except we’re a family of six so maybe we throw out more groceries and waste more money?
This article provided me just the information I needed to make sure I don’t end up wasting products in my fridge that are still able to be consumed. So, do you pour the milk down the drain on the exact expiration date? Before reading this article, I have heard that you can still drink milk as long as it’s been properly refrigerated for about a week after the sell-by date. I didn’t follow that though because I thought it was a myth. Now that I’ve read it in this article, I’ll take it literally. Another thing that surprised me is that eggs are still good at least three to five weeks after the sell-by date! Basically products like yogurt, mayonnaise and cottage cheese can last at least ten days past the expiration date! This will definitely help our family with preventing needless wasting of food and it saves me money when I have to run out to the grocery store because we didn’t finish our milk or eggs or whatever by the expiration date. At least I know I have a window of time afterwards to finish up the food before purchasing more.
Another important piece of information the article provides is differentiating between “sell-by” date and “use-by” date. I’d like to share this with you because it probably will help you the next time you go grocery shopping. The “use-by” date is the last day the item is at its best quality as far as taste, nutritional value and appearance, etc. It gradually declines after that. The “use by” date refers to products that have not been opened. The “sell-by” date, which is not really a matter of food safety, is a notice to stores that the product should be taken off the shelves because its quality declines after that date.
For more information, please read the article: http://green.yahoo.com/blog/care2/54/food-expiration-dates-what-do-they-really-mean.html . One last thing, even if the expiration date on the product has not expired, if it looks moldy or smells spoiled – don’t eat it and throw it away!
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