Case Study: Food Expiration Dates

Case Study intellectual nourishment Expiration witnesssIf the lift out before exit stamped on your milk carton says January 1, 2011, does that regard as its non safe to drink it any much(prenominal) on January 2? How enormous stick out raw magnetic core go away inside the electric refrigerator before it goes bad? Is there a difference between subroutine by, Best before, Sell by, and all the a nonher(prenominal) appointee labels?Questions like these await to boggle many Filipino homemakers to daytime. With the constant struggle to stretch every peso for their family, throwing away un claimd pabulum just because a get out says so is something that isnt fun to do at all. What do these interprets really mean and should they be followed with ut around strictness?Food Product DatingPlacing terms on forage returns is a practice being followed by the fare perseverance to let the retail store k immediately how long a product for sale should be put on display. Food p roduct go out similarly helps letrs like us determine until when we force out buy or use the product at its best grapheme, provided it has been properly stored. Do distinction that these appointments atomic number 18 not to be conf employ as a base hit date, as there atomic number 18 many factors that determine provender safety. at that place be basically two types of regimen product dating unlikeable or coded dating and receptive dating. Closed or coded dating whitethorn be take onn on shelf-stable products like stinkerned nices and boxes of food. Coded dates can be in MMDDYY put, while some manufacturers use the Julian calendar wherein January would be 001 to 0031 (1st to the thirty-first day of the year) and December would be 334 to 365 (334th to the 365th day of the year). These be packing total meant to be employ by the food manufacturers to track production.The dates that most consumers see on the grocery shelves, on the other hand, like those stamped on j am-packed subject field, eggs and dairy products, is called open dating. This uses the standard calendar date format much(prenominal) as date month year or dd/mm/yy. check to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Regulation no. 001 serial publication of 1982 (Subject Guidelines for Open-Date Marking of Prepackaged Foods), open date scorings should be indicated on food packages using indelible ink or embossed on cans or any other acceptable manner. The comparable fly the cooplines also specify that the date marking should appear in a conspicuous place such as in the front panel of the label or on top of packages like box, bottles or cans.Putting open-date markings on packaged food products is routinely done by food producers and manufacturers, that not all of them are required to do so. According to the BFAD Memorandum Circular No. 6 s. 1993 (Subject Monitoring of Food Products Requiring an Open Date Marking), the food products that are required to indicate their best befor e date are the chaseLiquid Milk Products which include filled, recombined or reconstituted evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and UHT sterilized milk. full-page Milk PowderDried Dairy Milk Powder alter Milk PowderSkimmed Milk PowderBakery Products (those interchange in supermarkets, not in bakeries) which include loaf bread and stoolInfant Food and Infant FormulaVitamin C-enriched liquid output drinks because later some time, vitamin C content may not be as much as what the label declares. According to FDA Regulation No. 001-D s. 1982 (Subject Guidelines for the Open-date marking of Vitamin C enriched liquid fruit drinks), before its best before date, these fruit drinks should at any time contain 80% of the label take of Vitamin C, but not lower than 30 mg/250 mg sample.The enumeration also mentions the directive that requires retailers to remove from their sales counters all products above that do not bear the required open date markings.The open dates are based o n the average shelf life history of the food bloom of youth being packed before it loses its optimal quality or nutritional content. This doesnt mean that subsequently the date you cannot consume the products anymore, it simply means that the quality of food is no monthlong assured. erst the date passes, food products should be quiet be safe for consumption, as long as its handled and stored properly (i.e. unploughed at 40 degrees F or below). You may continue to consume food past its best before date up to a certain extent, depending on the recommended computer storage times that pull up stakes be discussed get along down this article.Open Date terminologyLocally, the Bureau of Food and Drugs (which was subsequent renamed Food and Drug Administration or FDA in August 2009), enforces guidelines that sulk open-date marking and labeling of packaged food. The FDA defines the different types of open date terminology as the followingConsume Before Date also known as Use by date or Expiry date. This is the date which gives you the populate day of the products estimated shelf life. This is only guaranteed if certain storage conditions are met, of course, such as storage temperature and handling. Beyond this date, the food product in not considered marketable anymore or is expired and must be discarded. The consume before date must be indicated in labels of packed snotty-nosed food products like fruit juices, chocolate drinks, impertinently milk, butter, yoghurt, cream, cheese, cured or frozen meat and fish, bakery products, and baby food. Products that have no preservatives are highly destructible therefore indelible markings must be indicated visibly in these labels.Best Before Date also called Best if used by date. The keyword here is using the word best beside the date, meaning it is the date which signifies the end of the period where the products best quality is guaranteed. Again, the guarantee assumes a state storage condition. Beyond this date, the products quality attributes will be expected to omit but may still be satisfactory for human consumption. afterward a few old age or weeks of the indicated date, though, changes in color or texture and decrease in nutritional content may is expected. another(prenominal) products, especially those imported from overseas, may have different open date markings compared to locally distributed food. The following are some of the more popular open date foothold usedSell-By Date this is actually meant for the store owners more than the consumers. This date gives an approximation on how long the store should display a product for sale before it should be pulled out of the shelves. Consumers are also advised to buy the product before the sell-by date because, according to fourth-year faculty member Paul VanLandingham of the Johnson Wales University Center for Food and Beverage Management, this is the ending date wherein freshness is at highest level of quality in terms of taste, freshness and consistency. After the sell-by date, the food product should still be nutrition for some time after.Born-On Date this is equivalent to the date of manufacture and is much used to date beer. VanLandingham explains that beer quality is affected by how much sunlight it is overt to. Since sunlight can reactivate microorganisms in the beer, store owners are advised to be careful with handling beer in clear bottles more than those in naughty brown or clean bottles. Generally, commercialized beer can go sub-par after three months from the born on date.Guaranteed Fresh Date this is normally used by bakeries and is similar to best before date. As the name suggests, the guarantee is given that the baked product is at peak freshness before the date indicated. After the guaranteed fresh date, food will still be edible and may still be consumed, but taste, texture and nutritional value may not be the same anymore.Storage Times keeping food at 40 F or below inside a ref rigerator is usually good s for food as the common food-borne bacterium usually take on in much higher temperatures (41 degrees F and above). Did you know that if you freeze perishable food like meat cuts, youre actually extending your foods shelf life by as much as several days?The US part of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service website gives a food storage chart on food that bears a sell by or no date marking. Assuming youre storing food at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below, cook or freeze the following food products by the times mentioned below fresh fowl, ground meat, variety meats (like heart, speech, liver, brain, etc), raw beef or pork sausages 1 or 2 days keen pork, beef, lamb, veal 3 to 5 daysCured meat (like ham, tocino, etc) 5 to 7 days egg 3 to 5 weeksCooked poultry and sausages 3 to 4 daysHotdogs and bacon 2 weeks if sealed, 1 week if open upLuncheon meat 2 weeks if sealed, 3 to 5 days if receptiveCooked ham 7 days if sealed if opened, 3 days for s lices, 7 days if unbroken wholeCanned ham (with keep keep label) 9 months if unopened, 3-4 days if openedCanned meat and poultry 2-5 years if unopened if opened, 3-4 daysLife after food product datesAccording to experts, the average American family disposes of over 120 lbs of food monthly food that could have still been perfectly okay to eat Talk nearly wasted money on what should have been spent on other basic needs of the family. Well, good thing that a USDA question has reported how packed foods can last several days (some, regular weeks) after the sell-by date printed on packages. This is certainly good news for the Filipino household budgeters.As recommended by the Center of Consumer Research at University of California, Davis, heres a list of foodproducts that are okay to consume (if properly handled and stored) regular after open date markingsMilk if pasteurized, milk usually remains fresh for about 5-7 days after the sell-by date. Make sure that its not exposed too l ong to sunlight, though, as it can lose some indispensable vitamins. This is why most milk cartons come in opaque containers.Eggs can be stored up to 5 weeks after taking them home. This is because most egg processing plants coat their eggs in mineral oil, which essentially blocks bacteria from entering any of the approximately 17,000 egg shell pores. care eggs refrigerated also keeps bacteria away. Its best to keep them in their original carton and place them in the colder separate of your ref, not on the egg tray placed at the door (this is actually the warmest part of the fridge)Poultry, beef, pork and seafood cooking before storing in the fridge doubles the original shelf life of meats (3 to 5 days instead of 1 to 2 days). Once completely frozen, meat can last up to several weeks, even months. According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, freezing meat at 0F (which is equivalent to -17.78C) is best for safety reasons. Keeping meat frozen at 0F wont tear bacteri a that can cause food-borne illnesses, but it sure can slowly down growth by forcing them into a state of dormancy. Some parasites can be killed at this temperature. Theoretically, keeping food frozen at this temperature can make meat last forever. Attempting to achieve this at home, however, is an extremely arduous task since your refrigerator is opened several times a day (causing fluctuation in temperature every time). Taking this into consideration, heres a list of recommended storage times of frozen products in home refrigeratorsBacon, sausage, raw poultry 1 to 2 monthsHam, cooked meat, hot dogs or cold cuts 2 to 3 monthsRaw ground meat 3 to 4 monthsCooked poultry 4 monthsRaw steaks, roasts or chops 4 months to a yearRaw poultry parts 9 monthsCanned goods normally, canned goods are great refrigerator-free foods that last long if stored in the right conditions. If you cant find an expiry date printed on the label, here are some easy reminders on how long they usually last hig hly acidic canned food like genus Ananas or tomato sauce can last about 18 months or more. Canned goods that are low in acid content like canned veggies or meat can be kept up to 5 years. Texas AM University professor of food and nutrition Peggy VanLaanen powerfully recommends keeping canned goods at 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit in a dry, dark place for optimal shelf life. Humidity can speed-up deterioration, so this should be avoided. Do not buy dented cans or those that are hump or bulging since these may easily be harboring harmful bacteria already (if you have bulging cans in your shelves, throw them out now even if expiration date isnt due yet)Yogurt this can last up to 5 days beyond the use by date, for as long as you keep them refrigerated. You may lose the friendly bacteria after this, but it should still be safe to eat. To keep yogurt fresh longer, place it upside down in your refrigerator as this creates a seal that can keep harmful bacteria from feed in its packaging.Frui t juice this can last up to 6 days beyond the use by date, for as long as you keep them refrigerated. The sugars and acids added to your fruit juice already lengthen the shelf life and those in concentrate form can also last longer because air has been removed prior to packing. Keeping juices in the refrigerator after purchasing them will surely lengthen shelf life in general.Mishandled food can breed bacteria even before its labelled date, so it is important that you follow storage instructions mentioned in product packaging. For example, if you bought a pack of hotdogs that say theyll expire next month and you forgot to refrigerate the pack for several days, bacteria could have already contaminated your food even before the expiration date. If food is already contaminated by harmful bacteria like Listeria, E. coli or Salmonella, they can multiply and anatomy colonies within days, even if you decide to throw the forgotten pack of hotdogs back in the refrigerator.According to fo od safety advocate, Bill Marler of Marler Clark (a Seattle law tighten that represents victims of food poisoning), when bacteria are already present in food, the use-by date becomes irrelevant since it can cause harm even before the date indicated. In this case, it will be safer for you and your family to just throw away unconsumed food instead of risking the possibility of getting sick.Trust your nose and tongueFor food that are not packed for commercial distribution (like cooked commissariat bought from a local carinderia or made to order baked goodies), the best way to find out if food is still edible or not is if we use our God-given sense of smell and taste. These are actually what our ancestors used back when food dating was not discovered yet.In general, you should not eat food that gives off a repulsive smell or taste, as it most likely isnt fit for consumption anymore. 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