The passing of Thanksgiving often leads to a purge of food items in refrigerators across America. Many food items are discarded solely based on their expiration dates, even if they are still edible. However, food scientists argue that expiration dates are essentially useless for food safety. The food-waste nonprofit ReFED estimated that 305 million pounds of food would be needlessly discarded during Thanksgiving.
Expiration dates on food products are mostly useless for food safety, according to food scientists. While expired food can occasionally be vile and cause illness, the majority of what is deemed trash is perfectly edible. Expiration dates, part of a sprawling family of labels that includes “best before,” “sell by,” and “best if used by,” convey information about an item’s quality rather than its safety. The problem is that most consumers mistakenly believe these labels indicate safety, leading to unnecessary food waste.
In the US, rotting food’s annual emissions are equivalent to 42 coal-fired power plants, and people throw away roughly $1,300 worth of food each year. Proper storage and cooking are “kill steps” that destroy harmful pathogens. As long as food does not carry these germs to begin with, pathogens will not suddenly appear the moment the clock strikes midnight on the expiration date. For example, soured or curdled milk can still be safe to consume—dry goods generally never become unsafe, even if their flavor dulls.
However, certain high-risk foods, such as deli meats, raw fish, sprouted vegetables, and unpasteurized milk and cheese, should be labeled as such, as they can harbor invisible Listeria and are usually served cold. To overcome this, efforts are underway in the US Senate and the House to replace all date labels with two phrases: “best if used by” to denote quality and “use by” for safety.
What adds to confusion is that there is no federal oversight over such labels. For example, milk in Idaho can be sold by grocery stores 10 days later than in another state, such as Montana. In some states, for instance, New York or Tennessee, these labels are not required at all. In the meantime, there are tools such as the FoodKeeper app, developed by the US Department of Agriculture, which allows users to look up how long food lasts, and the Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook, which provides practical advice. The smell test is also a reliable way to determine if food is still safe to eat. Experts suggest that teaching students how to handle perishable food, including what perishable food looks and smells like, could help reduce food waste in the future.