Finally, I am going to talk about one of my pet peeves. Those “best if used by” dates that are placed on every package have nothing whatever to do with food safety. The claim by the manufacturers, packers, or distributors is that for optimum quality, use it by whatever the date is. Surely, I’m not the only person who sees an obvious flaw with this strictly arbitrary process. In addition to throwing away perfectly good food, even food pantries won’t accept food with past “best if used by” dates on them. And although I think this is an excellent article, I take issue with the word “expiration.” Expiration is not synonymous with “best if used by.” The article does guide you through how long some foods are good, and recognizing spoiled food. Click here to read the article in Eating Well.
