Is it time for the US federal government to take control of food expiration-date labeling?

… and take away the state’s rights to let people die because of State law? It won’t happen.

Should there be national regulations? Almost certainly.

But in this right-wing-government-is-bad environment, with the reactionary congress we have, anything like this, which would be a federal regulation, will be seen as impinging on the states. So it will never happen.

I think that their theory is that Iowa’s congressmen know better than the FDA then sour milk will make you sick.

^^^ The mindset you’ve (very accurately) described has a predictable reaction when something tragic, yet avoidable, happens: “Why didn’t ‘they’ do something? Why aren’t ‘they’ preventing this?”

The Fed should stay out of this IMO. The burden is really on the consumer. It takes 2–3 seconds to look at the expiration date and I am continually amazed how often I find canned or boxed goods that are expired or soon to expire. But this is only part of the equation as I know I have canned good deep in the pantry that are expired and it does suck when I have to discard these items and I wonder how many consumers do date checks at all?

But this is part of my DNA as I have emergency stores in the basement and am rotating out food items on a monthly basis that I have the date written on the front of the label in black Sharpie.

“Most foods are labeled with dates saying when the food should “sell by,” or tell you “best if used by,” “best before” and “expires by.” The difference between the dates and when the food is actually unsafe to eat could range from days to years.”
@Cruiser

I think that’s the problem.
When does the food become unsafe to eat? Give me a scientifically determined date, and I’ll stop playing canned-good Russian roulette. There are times that our 5 senses are not enough, but that, and the date on the package, are all that we have.
I don’t give a rat’s rump about “best by” – if it tastes like crap, I’ll pitch it.

No.

Is this really a pressing issue? Are there scores of people dying because they ate canned tomatoes that were a little too old? Are there people suffering grievous injury from stale crackers?

Absolutely. We need a Cabinet-level department – over Agriculture, in fact – for an entire Department of Labeling. They will have their hands full, because they obviously need to label more than just cans of vegetables (and let’s not forget the fresh ones, too, please). They will also have to label who can pee where, and the names for the rooms. They will have to invent, manage (and correct spelling) for a whole list of brand new pronouns of personal address in New York City alone.

Why, who can even tell the difference any more between a station wagon, an SUV, a crossover vehicle or a hatchback?

We need better labels. Enforced with a SWAT team (or whatever they’re going to call it).

@ibstubro I have read this question over a hundred times over the years at a prep blog I belong to. Their answer is keep the cans and boxes no matter what. Only throw out the bulging and dented cans. The canned food may not look as good as new or taste as good but unless it is clearly off or rancid it is probably still OK to consume. But don’t take my word….Google your way over to the USDA and read what they have to say….it might surprise you.

No, @Darth_Algar, the issue isn’t people using expired food, it’s people wasting edible food:
“The USDA said the average American wastes 36 pounds of food each month, and misunderstood or unclear labeling plays a part in it.”

I was just using canned goods as an example, @Cruiser. In truth, I’ll only pitch bulged cans. BUT, I don’t think we’re the rule so much as the exception. The majority of people I know will not consume a product beyond the date stamped on the container. People will literally pour milk out the day it’s dated. I know people that won’t use eggs past the date on the carton. When the hell did they start dating EGGS? They’re good for months with minimal care.
A local store has been having a clearance on regional, farm cured cheese because it’s past the expiration date. LOL I’m stocked UP. The stuff is cryo-vaced, for cripes sake.

@ibstubro Food companies bank on the germaphobes who will toss out any and all foods that expire on the printed date. That has to result in a healthy percent of new purchases to replace food stuffs that still have 3–5 years of usefulness.

That’s the point, @Cruiser.

“Best by” date is obviously a manipulation by the manufacturer to con you into replacing a product.
We either need a “Dangerous after:” date or instructions stating how to determine if a product is bad – i.e. eggs float in water.
Cans could have a valve like a Thanksgiving Turkey that pops up if there’s pressure in the can.

Let’s remember back in the day people went to the market way more often and we didn’t have so many packaged foods with preservatives. If anything, in general, we keep food longer than ever before.

I used to buy tortillas that were the best this side of the Rio Grande, I often wondered where they bought the corn flour for them. Their package had no date. No date for sell by, use by, when the product was made, nothing. I wasn’t happy about it. I still bought them, but I would really prefer a date. You can’t really rely on a store to rotate the merchandise. NC and TN I had the worst experiences with moldy and bad food. More than once in NC I found packaged bread green with mold in the shelf. More than once the fish I bought smelled bad when I got home to use it. I found mustard past the date, cocktail sauce past the date, cheese past the date. It was ridiculous. TN I consistently had deli meat go bad in less than two days, I stopped buying it. I didn’t buy fresh cut deli meat for years, except when traveling.

When I buy food at the store I expect it to be edible. The employees are not opening packages to smell the food and see if it’s still good (although the bad fish should have been obvious). You need to give the store a date as a guide.

never mind the Government, how about the Health Department…?
Are they doing their jobs?

^^What are you talking about?

Of course not. The goal should be to shrink government and their intrusion into the lives of private citizens, not to expand.

@ibstubro “the issue isn’t people using expired food, it’s people wasting edible food”

So, how will that be stopped if the federal government take over food labeling?

“Most foods are labeled with dates saying when the food should “sell by,” or tell you “best if used by,” “best before” and “expires by.” The difference between the dates and when the food is actually unsafe to eat could range from days to years.”

A single standard could focus more on the unsafe date, @Darth_Algar.
I’m not sold on the federal government taking control, but I think there needs to be a clearer, more universal standard.
“Best before” particularly drives me nuts, knowing it has no bearing on food safety, yet people will see the date and refuse to eat the product. It’s a food industry game to churn the store inventory.

It may not have any bearing on food safety, but it may have a bearing on food quality and taste. Some folks, while knowing that the food is still perfectly safe to consume, may simply not want to eat food that’s past its peak freshness and taste.

Is there a packaged food that’s not past it’s peak in freshness and taste?

It’s not as if the USDA is totally hands off as it is.
From the United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service:
”+Sell-By:+” This date tells the store how long to display the product for sale. You should buy the product before the date expires.
”Best if Used By (or Before):” This date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
”Use-By:” This date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. The date has been determined by the manufacturer of the product.

I’d be good if ‘Sell by” was required on food packaging. Everything else optional as it is now.