Most of us place far too much faith in a product’s expiration date. It has become almost natural for American consumers to simply toss out their foodstuffs once they have gone a day or two past the official “sell by” date.
However, new information shows that people who blindly throw away their food a few days after an expiration date are only throwing away their hard earned cash.
According to the National Resource Defense Council, the dates that companies put on their food products do not indicate when that food has spoiled. The expiration date only indicates when a food has reached its highest degree of freshness. Many foods are extremely safe to eat after the expiration date, you just have to know how to tell.
There are many tips to help people determine whether or not their food is still good after the expiration dates. For example, if you are curious about the freshness of eggs, just fill a bowl with cold water and drop the eggs in the bowl.
The eggs that float are spoiled, but the eggs that sink are fresh. It is easy to tell when milk goes bad, since it starts to smell rancid and form lumps. Also, if you ever spot mold on bread or cheese, just throw it away.
There are tons of tips like these on the Internet to help consumers judge exactly when their foods have truly gone bad. The official expiration date is only a guide, the true judge of freshness is the consumer.
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