When you consider the dreadful truth about food poisoning, you would expect a government-mandate for labeling the stuff we eat. There isn’t one.  The FDA does require that baby formula have a “Use by…” date, but once you’re off the bottle, you’re on your own. 

The lack of a legal requirement hasn’t kept food manufacturers from dating their products, but the systems they use, and the motives behind them, have only created confusion.  If I purchase a can of tuna the day before the “Sell By” date, is it safe to eat for another day, or another month?  “Best If Used By” feels like a suggestion related to quality, while “Use By” sounds like an imperative with dire and yet ambiguous consequences.  Some of us fear health dangers lurk if we don’t adhere strictly to these dates. Others suspect that dates are a ploy by manufacturers to get us to feed their bottom line instead of ourselves.  The FDA has only one thing to say about this – “use common sense” – which unfortunately isn’t all that common. 

There is more to food than just avoiding sickness and everyone benefits when food items are consumed at their peak of flavor and nutrition.  Retailers will customarily discard products by whatever date is on them, effectively putting the burden on the consumer.  Those of us who throw things out once they pass that printed date might feel smugly safe from sickness, but how do you know the yogurt that doesn’t “expire” until next week didn’t sit on a loading dock at 110 deg for 5 hours before arriving at your local market?  <continue>