Use-by dates are contributing to millions of pounds of wasted food each year as most consumers fallaciously believe that expiration dates on canned goods indicate how safe the food is to consume, when these dates actually are not related to the risk of food poisoning or foodborne disease.
Aside from indicating its freshness, manufacturers use the dates to convey when the product is at its peak. In other words, food does not expire in the sense of becoming inedible.
i09 reported these dates are simply recommendations based on questions of appearance and taste to determine when the food inside may actually spoil. This means, eating food after its ideal quality date is not harmful -- and expired foods won't necessarily make people ill.
"With the exception of baby formula, the presence of that best-by date on canned foods is totally optional-although the government does issue suggestions for how long of a shelf-life manufacturers may want to recommend, depending on what's inside each can," the site informed. "The longest recommended shelf lives tend to be for foods with a basic PH level (canned meats or soup, for instance), while anything a little more acidic (like tomatoes, pineapple, fruit cocktail, and pickles) is going to get a much shorter timeframe of under 18 months."
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Harvard Law School's Food Law and Policy Clinic released a report in September 2013 which revealed Americans are impulsively throwing out food, mainly because of misperception over what expiration dates actually mean.
"Words like "use by" and "sell by" are used so inconsistently that they contribute to widespread misinterpretation - and waste - by consumers," the authors wrote the report. "More than 90% of Americans throw out food prematurely, and 40% of the U.S. food supply is tossed-unused-every year because of food dating."
"For example, eggs can be consumed three to five weeks after purchase, albeit the "use by" date is much earlier," Time shared. "A box of mac-and-cheese stamped with a 'use by' date of March 2013 can still be enjoyed on March 2014, most likely with no noticeable changes in quality."
Food Safety and Inspection Service said that you can expect the food inside to stay, if not exactly good, then at least edible for an indefinite amount of time, advising that "as long as the can is in good shape, the contents should be safe to eat." However, USDA warned consumers to avoid eating out of "bulging, rusted, leaking, or deeply dented cans."
Hence, make sure to take a good look before you crack the cans open and always check for any leaking, rust, swelling or anything odd-looking about the can. If you see something, don't you dare risk it.
