Have you been buying expired food?
Too often, consumers purchase expired products without even knowing it. This happens because we fail to check the expiry date when making purchases. When an expiry date is placed on a product, the manufacturer or packager does not guarantee the quality or any other property of the product after that date.
All food items should bear a date-marking to indicate their expiry date. The date-marking is the date after which the food, when kept in accordance with any storage conditions indicated on the label, may not retain its normal nature and quality. It must be permanently marked or embossed on the package or label of the package.
The expiry date should be qualified by words like:
- "EXPIRY DATE" - which is the last date on which a product should be used. If the date has passed, throw it away.
- "SELL BY" - which indicates the last day on which the product should be sold. You can keep the food two to three days longer than that if it is well refrigerated.
- "BEST IF USED BY" is the date by which the manufacturer guarantees the freshness and quality of the food. It is not dangerous to use the food after that date, but the food may not have top quality or top nutritional value after that date.
- "PACKED ON" dates are sometimes found on canned and frozen food. This is not useful information unless you know when the food was picked and processed before the freezing or canning. As a rule of thumb, frozen foods can be kept for three to four months after that date. Canned goods can be stored for up to a year beyond that date.
Where the validity of the date mark is dependent on its storage, the storage direction of that food must be stated on the label or package.
For example: "BEST BEFORE: 31/12/ 05. "Store in a cool, dry place."
If you inadvertently purchased 'expired' goods, you should bring this to the attention of the manager of the retail outlet where the item is being sold.
Remember, the power is yours!
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