Decoding the Dates on Food Labels

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Here's a very helpful article by Fruits & Veggies: More Matters on what to make of the use by dates found on food products. References may pertain to the US market, but general tips are still very locally applicable.

Get informed!

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TheBUZZ:
Food labeling makes the "use by" date confusing?


WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
With all of the dates posted on food products, it’s hard to know when they are no longer safe to eat.


WHAT WE KNOW
It is a question many of us try to answer every day, "How long is food edible after purchase and what do all of the dates posted on products really mean?" Most foods have three (3), and sometimes four (4), dates visible on them:

Sell By Date The last day a retailer can display a product for sale.
Use By Date The last day a product will maintain its optimum freshness, flavor, and texture. Beyond this date, the product begins to deteriorate although it is still edible.
Expiration Date Means what it says - if you haven’t used a product by this date, toss it.
Closed or Coded Dates Packing numbers for use by the manufacturer.

So how can you tell if a food item has spoiled if no date is posted? Trust your nose and eyes. If it looks or smells funny, throw it out. If you see mold, it’s too old!

What about fruits and vegetables, which don’t usually have "sell by" dates? While each type and form of fruit of vegetable can vary, there are a few general rules:

Fresh Use within a few days.
Frozen Use within 6 months.
Canned Usually have an expiration date, but typically have a shelf-life of up to 2 years.
Dried Most last between 4 months and a year.
100% Juice Most are marked with expiration date.

HOW DO WE KNOW THIS?
According to the USDA, the only food products that are required by federal law to have dates are infant formula and some baby foods. All other foods may use what is known as open dating. Open dating is a date stamped on a product’s package to help the store determine how long to display the product for sale. It can also help the purchaser to know the time limit to purchase or use the product at its best quality. It is not a safety date. Open dating is found primarily on perishable foods such as meats, poultry, eggs and dairy products. There is not a uniform or universally-accepted system used for food dating in the United States.

OUR ADVICE
Great-tasting fruits and vegetables begin with proper storage at home. Just remember the FIFO rule: First In, First Out. Use whatever is oldest first and continually rotate your stock to ensure freshness and reduce waste. In general, you can use these storage rules for fruits and veggies:

Fresh Visit our Fruit & Veggie Database for storage information on specific fruits and vegetables.
Frozen Store at 0°F or less.
Canned Store at room temperature (about 75°F).
Dried Store in a cool, dark place. Some dried foods may be refrigerated (check the package).

To find out more information about labeling and storage recommendations for all foods visit the USDA’s website.

Save on Groceries!

Follow @ilovemyveggies

Found an interesting article from Women's Health on how to save on grocery shopping. Did you know that you actually end up spending more than planned when you do quick trips to the supermarket?

Be a savvy shopper and plan out your groceries. The Green Grocer can also help you schedule your produce shopping for the week, just give us a call and we'll be glad to work with you.

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6 Tricks to Cut Your (Healthy) Grocery Bill
By DAVID ZINCZENKO WITH MATT GOULDING

Cut out the empty calories and maximize the quality of your supermarket score with these six rules of savvy shopping:

Avoid Quickies
A study published by the Marketing Science Institute found that shoppers who made
"quick trips" to the store purchased an average of 54 percent more merchandise than they
planned. Instead, be thoughtful in your planning—keep a magnet-based notepad on your
fridge and make notes throughout the week about what you need. (And avoiding extra
trips will cut down on your gasoline costs as well.)

Write the Perfect Shopping List
Before you head out, organize your list of needs by grocery-store section: produce, dairy,
meat, cleaning products, cosmetics, etc. (Rewrite the list if you need to.) Then bring a
pencil and, as you add each item to your cart, tick it off from your list. No loitering, no
wandering aimlessly through the store. Try to make each visit a minute or two shorter than
the last—you'll find that the more time you save, the more money and calories you save
too!

Check Yourself Out
Maybe those creepy mechanical voices weird you out, or maybe you just like waiting in
long lines to chat with retirees. But waiting in line for a checkout person is an invitation to
caloric chaos. A study by IHL Group found that when shoppers used the self-checkout line,
impulse purchases dropped by more than 16 percent for men—and more than 32 percent
for women. (That's good news for your body as well. Eighty percent of candy and 61
percent of salty snacks are bought on impulse.)


Make Wednesday Grocery Night
According to Progressive Grocer, only 11 percent of shoppers go to the store on
Wednesdays, and only 4 percent of customers shop on any day after 9 P.M. If your store's
open late, it might be the best way to avoid the crowds—and to avoid the impulse
spending that accompanies being stuck in the checkout line.

Watch Your Weight
Okay, so one brand of crackers costs $4 and the other $4.50. But before you assume
which is cheaper, take a closer look at the net weight. You'll often find the more expensive
box contains more actual food—and as such, the food is actually cheaper. Net weight is
also a great way of making sure you're not paying for a lot of packaging, only to get home
and discover most of what's inside the box is air.


Eat Before You Shop
A 2008 Study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that consumers are likely to
spend more if their appetite is revving full throttle before making a purchase. (And it's not
just food you'll spend more on. In the study, women who were given a whiff of a chocolatescented
candle were four times as likely to want to shop for a new sweater than those who
weren't. Damn you, Auntie Anne's!)