Are food expiration dates too restrictive? NPR story

[Seymour Flops]

I like NPR as I have stated before. I often hear stories in my car and then go look the transcript up to talk about them here.

The basic premise of this one is that expiration dates are arbitrary, not related to food safety, vary from state to state, and lead to a lot of food waste. I think that is probably very valid. Especially regulations forbidding the donation of food to food banks if it is one day after the "best by," date or whatever.

But I'm concerned about the timing of the story in the context of the Biden administration. I like NPR but it is very liberal, and so their stories have to be analyzed for the story behind the story so to speak.

I'm trying to remember what other administration ever felt the need to warn us about impending food shortages. Biden said that food shortages "gonna be real," and we've already seen it with baby formula. As far as I know, the last time Americans went hungry because of food shortages was the Civil War, when troops burned crops on southern farms. We had hunger during the depression, but that was at the time that government was destroying food in an attempt to make farming more profitable, so it wasn't about shortages.

Could it be that the left knows that its Soviet style policies have always led to food shortages, and they are now trying to prepare us for a time in which we will have not choice but eat older food, since replacement food will not be readily available? I agree that the expiration dates don't makes sense a lot of time, but I've gotten used to eating fresh food throughout the pre-Biden era.

 

[Votto]

With communists in charge, people tend to heed food expirations less and less until they are eating the plastic the food came in.

So yea, with who is in government today, makes perfect sense.

 

[Canon Shooter]

I pay attention to food expiration dates... a little.

I had a half gallon of milk down in the fridge. I usually only use milk in my scrambled eggs. Well, anyway, this bottle of milk had been opened, and was only two days past its expiration date. Sweet jesus, the stench that came out of that bottle when I opened it was ungodly. Then there are times when the bottle is opened and the milk is perfectly fine a week after the expiration date.

If I have steaks or chicken in the freezer (which I rarely do), those are usually good to go for a good month, if not more.
The products which have "Best if used by" dates are usually fine for a long time after that "Best buy" date...

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Canned goods last far longer than the expiration date.
If the can has a dent be wary,if it's bloated toss it.
It becomes pretty obvious if it's bad when you open the can.

 

[TNHarley]

I pay attention to food expiration dates... a little.

I had a half gallon of milk down in the fridge. I usually only use milk in my scrambled eggs. Well, anyway, this bottle of milk had been opened, and was only two days past its expiration date. Sweet jesus, the stench that came out of that bottle when I opened it was ungodly. Then there are times when the bottle is opened and the milk is perfectly fine a week after the expiration date.

If I have steaks or chicken in the freezer (which I rarely do), those are usually good to go for a good month, if not more.
The products which have "Best if used by" dates are usually fine for a long time after that "Best buy" date...

Never go by the smell of milk by smelling the container. You are smelling that dried milk around the top. If you are questioning it, pour a little out and smell that.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Never go by the smell of milk by smelling the container. You are smelling that dried milk around the top. If you are questioning it, pour a little out and smell that.

Exactly.

 

[Canon Shooter]

Never go by the smell of milk by smelling the container. You are smelling that dried milk around the top. If you are questioning it, pour a little out and smell that.

Well, if the dried milk around the top smells that bad, I'm not too interested in what lies beyond it. After all, there's dried milk up there the day after you buy it...

 

[TNHarley]

Well, if the dried milk around the top smells that bad, I'm not too interested in what lies beyond it. After all, there's dried milk up there the day after you buy it...

But the milk itself could still be good.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Well, if the dried milk around the top smells that bad, I'm not too interested in what lies beyond it. After all, there's dried milk up there the day after you buy it...

He's right.
The dried milk at the top smells bad even when the milk itself is fine.
It's an easy enough thing to check for yourself.

 

[Seymour Flops]

Never go by the smell of milk by smelling the container. You are smelling that dried milk around the top. If you are questioning it, pour a little out and smell that.

Nice tip. Personally, I drink milk only once in a blue moon on cereal, and it must be completely fresh. But for people raising young 'uns, the need a lot of it.

 

[Canon Shooter]

He's right.
The dried milk at the top smells bad even when the milk itself is fine.
It's an easy enough thing to check for yourself.

Oh, I'm not really questioning that.

But if the bottle's a week past its expiration and it smells funky, I can throw down a few bucks for a fresh half gallon!

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Nice tip. Personally, I drink milk only once in a blue moon on cereal, and it must be completely fresh. But for people raising young 'uns, the need a lot of it.

I'll go through a couple of gallons a week myself.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Oh, I'm not really questioning that.

But if the bottle's a week past its expiration and it smells funky, I can throw down a few bucks for a fresh half gallon!

If I'm sitting at home in the morning in my underwear the last thing I wanna do is get dressed and drive to the store for some milk for my coffee.
I'd at least check it,might be able to avoid the trip.

 

[Dekster]

Canned and frozen things I will go past the expiration date but seeldom on other things.

 

[Canon Shooter]

Canned and frozen things I will go past the expiration date but seeldom on other things.

I'm usually dressed by 7am or so.

But, again, if it's a week past the expiration date, and the smell of death is coming from the bottle, I'm just going to assume that there's nothing else in there that's going to smell much better...