589648 Wed Jan 21 13:28:46 -0800 2009 11 33 Food Media and News 0 4345266 http://www.culinate.com/articles/culinate8/expiration_dates I thought the last point was the most important one, trust your nose. Wed Jan 21 13:28:46 -0800 2009 10039 Melanie Wong 1 4345629 Very true, this last sentence: "And keep in mind the fact that if you’re not sure if you’ve ever smelled rotten milk, you haven’t." Wed Jan 21 15:17:51 -0800 2009 4345266 10532 LindaWhit 2 4346009 that line made me laugh. so true :) Wed Jan 21 17:38:15 -0800 2009 4345629 103920 goodhealthgourmet 1 4349024 This ought to be tacked up at the top of one of the boards to forestall the endless and repetitive "is this good?" threads! Thu Jan 22 15:53:01 -0800 2009 4345266 10159 Ruth Lafler 2 4349547 I had those threads in mind when I decided to post a link to the article. It's an area that makes me crazy, so much food going to waste due to plain ignorance, so I hope the information is put to good use. There are so many other reasons that food gets junked, but that kind of waste bothers me the most especially in these times when 10% of Americans are on food stamps. Note that the author's area of interest is indeed food waste, per the byline. Thu Jan 22 19:27:32 -0800 2009 4349024 10039 Melanie Wong 3 4350280 But you know what, Melanie? The people that have it ingrained in them to throw things out by the Sell-By date are going to continue to do so. When I see people talking about throwing it out by the sell-by date (or even throwing away things by the Use By date!) it drives me nuts as well. But you're not going to break their lifelong habit - or only be able to do so with a rare few. They don't think of the potential waste - they think they don't want to get sick, and if the manufacturer is telling the there's a drop-dead date on usage, by God, they're going to believe it! Fri Jan 23 06:45:22 -0800 2009 4349547 10532 LindaWhit 3 4351100 Great article. Thanks for posting it. The shame is that the mainstream media is doing NOTHING about getting this type of information out to the general pubic. It would be so useful if consumer reporters started spreading the word that these "sell by," "use by," and "whatever by" dates have little relation to reality and that consumers should learn to use common sense. Waste is rampant in our society and we never could afford it and now we really can't. Maybe the problem isn't so much "ignorance" as an overabundance of caution because people have been trained to be fearful. The media promotes stories that sensationalize statistically minor incidents that makes people more likely to throw out perfectly useful items. If they used their common sense, they wouldn't do this. Some education from the media would be helpful, but it's not as good a story on the evening news. Fri Jan 23 10:18:39 -0800 2009 4349547 32444 MakingSense 4 4367651 We can each do what we can to get the word out. I forwarded the link to a public health nutritionist, and from there it has spread to various listserv groups for California's Central Coast (from Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara) related to hunger coalitions, food security, WIC, health education, and maybe find its way to people who need to know. "I always felt that my depression-era mom's habit of keeping food ages past the exp date was going to kill us all, but it didn't. I'm passing this on - very helpful. Thanks . . ." Wed Jan 28 18:34:36 -0800 2009 4351100 10039 Melanie Wong 5 4367858 It's amazing how many things people believe even though they have first-hand evidence to the contrary! In further adventures in "expired" food, I opened up a boxed liquer cake that I bought for the holidays three years ago. It said "best by 5-5-2006." I knew it wouldn't make me sick, but I figured it might be stale, but actually it was in pretty good shape: some of the sugar in had leached out and crystallized on the outside, but that actually made for a nice texture. Certainly it didn't need to be thrown out! Wed Jan 28 19:46:05 -0800 2009 4367651 10159 Ruth Lafler 1 4368007 This whole thread makes me laugh....i am constantly saving food from the trash & trying to explain to my spouse that half the food we refrigerate does not even need to be refrigerated and....the food was created as a way to preserve it....such as bacon! They used to hang it in a smokehouse! Potatoes were stored in basements all winter. Vinegar means bad wine. Many cheeses have mold rinds so don't throw out the whole chunk of cheese just shave it off. Now on the other hand my mother takes it too far & we often joke that she is trying to poison us all...but also making our systems stronger. Wed Jan 28 20:48:07 -0800 2009 4345266 12385 wellfedred 1 4368451 Thanks for posting this... I've been following Jonathan Bloom's blog since last summer, it's very interesting and he usually strikes a good balance between loving food and hating food waste. If you want more it at wastedfood.com Thu Jan 29 05:29:32 -0800 2009 4345266 135311 mpjmph 2 4371834 Pls feel free to use this Food Media and News board to provide a clipping service for interesting things you find on the topic. P.S. You have the same initials and credential as a childhood friend from Salinas, are you he? Thu Jan 29 23:49:06 -0800 2009 4368451 10039 Melanie Wong