Let me ask you this. Have you ever bought food from the store and it was stale when you opened it? Or it was alright, but the next day it was already going bad? ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 probably because you didnSA国际影视传媒檛 look at the SA国际影视传媒渂est beforeSA国际影视传媒� date.

Some of us use the dates religiously when buying food, some only once in a while, and some of us donSA国际影视传媒檛 look at them SA国际影视传媒� because we donSA国际影视传媒檛 know they exist. Eschia!

ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 no doubt that the various dates on food are confusing. There are dates like SA国际影视传媒渂est beforeSA国际影视传媒�, SA国际影视传媒渦se bySA国际影视传媒�, SA国际影视传媒渟ell bySA国际影视传媒�, SA国际影视传媒減repared onSA国际影视传媒�, SA国际影视传媒渇reeze bySA国际影视传媒�, and SA国际影视传媒渕anufactured on.SA国际影视传媒� Whew, that was a mouth full, wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 it?

Then of course there are some foods that only have a date with no words on them, like eggs or yogurt. And, some foods have no dates, like containers of fresh fruit.
Apparently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is sick and tired of all the labels. The FDA says Americans throw out $161 billion worth of food each year, and the confusing labels contribute to this. Not cool, man.

So, the FDA recently issued guidance urging the food industry to use only one standard label: SA国际影视传媒渂est if used by,SA国际影视传媒� which will simply relate to the best quality of the food, not its safety.

They said, SA国际影视传媒渟tudies have shown that this tells consumers that these products do not have to be discarded after the date if they are stored properly.SA国际影视传媒�
They add that predicting when a food is not good enough to eat is not an exact science. Hmmm I never was too good at science. LOL.

In the United States, products are not actually required to be labeled with a date unless itSA国际影视传媒檚 baby formula. So, why do manufacturers do it? Dr Sanjay Gupta says itSA国际影视传媒檚 mostly to get Americans to throw the food away and buy more food.

In Canada, Food and Drugs regulations require prepackaged foods with a lifespan of 90 days or less to be labelled with a durable life date, known as a SA国际影视传媒渂est beforeSA国际影视传媒� date.

SA国际影视传媒淏est beforeSA国际影视传媒� dates
The Canadian Food Inspection agency says that SA国际影视传媒淏est-beforeSA国际影视传媒� dates are not talking about food safety. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 saying after the date shown, the food may lose some freshness and flavour, or its texture might be different. Whoa. Really? Yup.

The foodSA国际影视传媒檚 nutritional value may also not be the same after the date, but, itSA国际影视传媒檚 probably still okay to buy and eat foods after the SA国际影视传媒渂est-beforeSA国际影视传媒� date has passed.
This next part is very important, so I hope youSA国际影视传媒檙e still reading. The SA国际影视传媒渂est-beforeSA国际影视传媒� date only applies to unopened products. Once you open the food, the date will probably change.
If youSA国际影视传媒檝e left a carton of milk in the fridge for a week like I did once, youSA国际影视传媒檒l know what I mean. I saw the SA国际影视传媒渂est beforeSA国际影视传媒� date was a few days away, so I thought it was still good. Then I smelled it. Gross. Mwahahahahaha.
To be safe, make sure that you properly store foods that are likely to spoil and eat them as quickly as possible. Harmful micro-organisms can grow in food and get you sick, even if the food doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 look like itSA国际影视传媒檚 spoiled.
And, always check food thatSA国际影视传媒檚 past its SA国际影视传媒渂est beforeSA国际影视传媒� date to see if itSA国际影视传媒檚 good enough to eat. The food agencies say not to eat things that have changed colour, consistency or texture. Especially, if it has turned black. Ewwwwww.

Another thing to remember is that itSA国际影视传媒檚 not illegal to sell a product if its SA国际影视传媒渂est-beforeSA国际影视传媒� date has passed, but it is illegal to sell food that is unsafe or to change the SA国际影视传媒渂est beforeSA国际影视传媒� date. If you see this, tell the retailer who is selling the food.

I donSA国际影视传媒檛 usually buy foods that are on or past the best before date, but some people always do because itSA国际影视传媒檚 cheaper.

Once in a blue moon, if thereSA国际影视传媒檚 nothing else, I will buy some. But I always try to eat it quickly and throw it in the compost if it looks or smells yucky.

So, if you want to buy fresh food and avoid getting sick from bad products, read food expiry dates.