(FeaturedNews.com) – Expiration packaging on food items might not be exactly what you think. Everyone has experienced either finding something in their pantry that is past the expiration date, or perhaps a discounted food item at the grocery store that is close to the printed date.
However, the one question that always remains is whether once the date has passed it is still safe to eat the expired food. In essence, this actually changes based on what is printed on the packaging. Before the date, there is usually the phrase “Best If Used By” or “Best By.”
However, as the Food and Drug Administration explains that date does not necessarily mean that the blood is expired. For example, in the case of infant formula, the expiration date is only meant to help ensure that the formula in question won’t lose any of the nutrients that are described on the label according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Still, the FDA has pointed out that a large number of consumers will often misread the dates on foods which could lead to billions of dollars of food being thrown away accidentally.
Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences associate professor of food science Abby Snyder stated that generally, the date labeling is a guidance on how fast the food needs to be consumed to avoid deterioration in the quality. However, as Penn State Extension’s Retail and Consumer Food Safety Team senior extension educator and leader Andy Hirneisen noted the label does not necessarily mean that past the expiration date, the food would have gone bad or that whoever consumes the food will end up sick. Instead, the quality would just suffer past the expiry date.
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