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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Expired or Not Expired...
I recently came across an interesting article posted to the Global Food
Safety Initiative Group on LinkedIn. It seems British Member of Parliament (MP) Hilary Benn who currently serves as that country’s
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has proposed some radical changes to date codes on food products.
The argument goes that many people are confused by all the different date code standards (Sell by, Use by, Display
Until…etc.), and are throwing away a lot of still edible food. His office estimates that over 370,000
tons of food are wasted each year because of this. MP Benn has proposed phasing out all date codes on food
packaging with the exception of the expiration date, which he argues is the only meaningful code to most consumers.
The
British Retail Consortium (BRC) disagrees with this proposal, countering that better education of the consumer would be the
preferred course of action. Presumably this would be done by way of an intensive marketing campaign including
printed brochures, radio and television advertisements, and other promotional materials provided at the government’s
expense. The BRC says that the various date codes are clearly defined to express their usage towards quality,
stock rotation, and consumer safety applications.
I happen to agree with the Secretary
of State on this one. It has been my experience that whenever someone encounters a date code on any food
product, they assume it is one of expiration. I have explained the differences in my food safety training
classes, but always follow up with the old “Customer is always right” routine. I think about
my own prejudices towards milk date coding. After gulping down some soured chocolate milk, the carton still showing a couple
of days of sale left, I’ve become a stickler about date checking. I, and many others, follow the old adage; “If
in doubt, throw it out.”
9:27 am
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