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Nope. You missed the point. "[C]lose to expiring" = still fresh, whether that's on the grocer's shelves or in your pantry.
Grocery stores -- or any other store -- have no obligation to protect shoppers against their own irrational biases. Nor should they.
Of course they do...that is why we have laws, rules and regulations for such. If you are ok with second rate or second best for hard earned dollars that is your perogative but don't pass it off as acceptable as that is in large part the problem with this country. You simply do not understand the point here in this topic and obviously don't comprehend how consumers are getting the short end of the stick here.
Last edited by sundrop; 12-10-2012 at 12:14 PM..
Reason: Typo
Good grief people. You all have missed the entire point, not to mention obviously the OP wasn't read.
I could care less that there is consensus here that foods are good for X years past the expiration date. The point is that we should not be purchasing items that have expired, are close to expiring or are freezer burnt. And while some may be ok with that, I am not and there is something wrong with the "chain" that it is landing on shelves as such. We the consumer are getting the short end of the stick, if you are ok mediocrity and ok with paying top shelf prices for third rate product then more power to 'ya.
Well, the point is that many of the goods that you feel are "expired, or close to expiring" are in fact not really doing so. That's why we are pointing out that canned goods are safe way past the date on the can.
I have not personally had a frequent problem with purchasing food that spoils too quickly, withe exception of produce that I intend to use then do not because of unexpected changes in plans.
DH likes whole milk; I drink skim. He uses it on cereal once or twice a week; I use it every day. I buy it by the gallon for each of us and we sometimes end up pouring out some of the whole milk, never the skim. My peeve is that a half gallon of whole milk costs almost as much as a gallon, so it is cheaper to buy the gallon of whole milk and potentially waste some of it. I think this is the nature of the product, not necessarily a defect in the way it is handled in the chain from cow to store.
I do not think I have ever gotten a canned item that was spoiled when I opened it. I also suspect the risk of getting one in this country is pretty small. There were reported cases of botulism from a canned product in 2007, with the most recent previous cases being in the 1970s:
I also do not remember getting frozen food that was freezer burned, although I have had items kept in my own freezer too long when I failed to rotate out stuff, like meat, and I ended up tossing it out.
I shop at Kroger and Walmart, both of which have high enough stock turnover to keep it from being a problem, I guess. If you shop at a smaller store and get items (like the anchovies in the OP) that are likely less popular, you may have a higher chance of getting older product.
If you shop at a smaller store and get items (like the anchovies in the OP) that are likely less popular, you may have a higher chance of getting older product.
Actually, the store is large and serves a large area. I get fresh seafood there, and it is fine - (so far!). The tin of anchovies had no dust on them, and I never see dust gathering on the shelves. Like I said, the expiration date was almost a year away. I'm sure if the seal had been bad, I would have smelled it immediately, or at least on the half hour ride home. I mean, anchovies, ya know?
And another thing, what's with garlic coming from China? I never would have bought had I looked at the country of origin beforehand; just threw them in the cart. I bought a sleeve last week, skinned a couple of cloves yesterday, and bleh! They looked good on the outside, but inside they are all dried out with brown spots. What? We can't even produce our own garlic?
Of course they do...that is why we have laws, rules and regulations for such.
Agreed.
Do you know what the federal law is on food expiration dates? Here it is: Infant formula must have an expiration date, and should not be used after that date.
That's it! That's the entire sum of federally required food dating.
For many years food products had coded dates on them for inventory control purposes, to make sure the oldest product was sold first. Then in response to consumer requests that coded dating began being converted to open dating, mostly on a voluntary basis. Some states passed a few laws about dating, primarily in regard to dairy products, but for the most part the dating you see on food products today is not required by any laws.
Canned foods typically carry a date that is set for 2 years after canning, which is a reasonable amount of time for canned goods to be expected to be 100% peak quality. After that 2 years the food is completely safe to eat indefinitely, but may experience a very slow degradation in quality. That date should most accurately be stated as Best By: but canners have discovered a sneaky little secret... that they can get a slight increase in overall sales by stating it instead as an Expiration Date, because people with food fears will irrationally pitch the product after two years and buy new to replace it.
Best By: dates are about quality, not safety. Got a box of cake mix that is 6 months past the Best By: date and no time to run to the store to replace it? No problem. You probably won't even notice the slight change in test or texture that researchers can detect, which is the basis for that date.
Sell By: dates are exactly that... the last date the producer guarantees the product to be fresh, and that you can expect full storage life on. You can buy any product on it's Sell-By: date with full assurance that it is fresh. With milk, for instance, you can expect it to be good for at least a week after you take it home, or some dairies extend that to guarantee to 8 or 9 days. (with the previous caveats that your refrig must be at proper temp.) Butter: two months. Eggs: six months
Cheese is an interesting case... people buy cheese that has been aged 6 months, 12 months, 18 months before being brought to market, then complain because it gets moldy in 3 weeks, blaming it on the cheese or on the store. But in fact, mold growth on cheese is almost entirely a factor of how it is stored, and a home refrigerator is NOT the best environment for storing cheese.
Frozen product Sell By: or Use BY: dates, again, have to do with quality, not safety. Properly wrapped food that is kept at below zero temperatures has been shown to be safe and edible after 100 years. The main concern is freezer burn, caused by multiple thaw/freeze cycles or loose wrapping that allows the food to dry out.
There are really only two food products I consider worth paying much attention to their freshness dating on... hamburger, and chicken, both of which I freeze or use by the 2nd day at home. My grandfather the butcher taught me that.
Much food these days is coming from China, most canned fish products included, best before dates for them are a mere suggestion and are probably just arbitrary numbers stamped on a can or jar to placate the consumers.
Interesting to see a major news org make a mistake this glaring. They said:
Quote:
Make sure to store your cans in the dark, because light can accelerate natural chemical reactions.
False! Since cans are completely opaque to light, this advice is totally wrong. As a matter of fact, this is one of the prime reasons craft breweries have begun canning beer, because canned beer keeps a fresh taste months longer than bottled beer, due to bottles letting light in. Light is what makes beer go skunky over time.
So this advice should actually read: "Make sure to store bottles and jars in the dark, because light can accelerate natural chemical reactions." With cans your attention should be on storing them someplace that is cool and dry.
As a single guy I have to shop fairly often to avoid waste. For instance, if I want a salad with numerous ingredients, I have to find ways to use the remainder of those ingredients. Same goes for bread. I have to basically choose what one type of bread I want to eat at a time, because I can't consume two loaves by the time one would be green. I've never liked bread after it's been frozen, especially for a sandwich.
That being said, I've had very few problems with food spoilage that weren't expected. But I do have a gripe about "fresh" chicken that almost always has a slightly spoiled smell. This is from any number of major grocery stores. I've mentioned it to people and am often told to buy from a butcher or organic store. I shouldn't have to pay a 50% premium just to get fresh chicken, or pork.
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