Use By/Sell By/Best Before?

What's the difference?

I throw out very little food, most of what I buy is eaten or if its fruit, meat or grain the birds will benefit so most of the time, it is all used.

There has been a lot of interest of late in whether it is safe to eat food past the date on the product.

There are tales of people/groups salvaging items from the bins of supermarkets looking for food that has been thrown away, some shops give food to residential homes because its still high in quality but because of health and safety laws they are unable to sell it.

We've all seen those bargain shelves where food is moved to and sold at reduced prices because it has to be sold on the day. Though many shops are still quite tight on how much they reduce items by.

I think I have a blog entry somewhere involving a tv reporter who decided to eat food well past it's date to see if tasted ok and whether it would harm him and result in food poisoning. The conclusion was that most items can be eaten and it will be perfectly safe. And you will be too. Of course it's personal choice.

Our Government has had many campaigns to have us exercise more, eat well, cut down on waste(another campaign was launched only days ago)what none of these ideas tackles is that for some income is low and the cost of food(what is seen as the good stuff)can be expensive and allowing for families who put drinking and smoking or what has been called junk or fast food or entertainment, what you can spend on food may be affected by the cost of traveling to work, paying utility bills, rent, community charges and other bills that you have to pay, that you cannot get out of.

And now as the world has been hit by the economic downturn and more families are struggling on a much reduced income even though you need food to live, people will cut back. If they went back to eating what the population had to during the two World Wars when food was rationed and portions were smaller we probably would be healthier and fitter. Will that ever happen, who knows.

Some people have gone back to growing their own vegetables where possible. But with many gardens being smaller or removed altogether(and allotments suffering the same fate)to return to this will not be easy.

Anyhow on the back of this, radio stations in the last few days have been talking about how a new site is doing a roaring trade selling food and goods that are close to their sell by/best before dates. And the programmes talked to food experts regarding how safe food is. A lot of what's available is confectionery and in my town one shop is often selling sweets near or just past the date and they sail out the shop, it could be this is where they are getting their supply. The shop has big signs up making it clear that the products are near their expiry dates.

And its something you as a consumer have to decide if eating food like this is safe but overall experts say if it smells and looks ok, it will be. If you the product has to be cooked and you follow directions correctly harmful bacteria will be killed off.

It is also true and has been admitted that if a product says sell by/best before it will be fine and can be eaten without much worry that you'll be harmed. It seems the only food guidance that should be followed and not questioned(but I have done so myself)and all experts seem to agree is not to eat anything if the date is preceded by the words "Use By" And it's been mentioned for years how long food if canned correctly can last and remain in good condition. I knew it went back to Napoleonic times and this an interesting article. The article suggests that initially food was stored in glass jars and cans came in after British involvement and they took things further.

It's one thing to buy too much food but if you are trying to avoid un-necessary trips to the supermarket you have to try and imagine what you would like to eat and how much you need and sometimes I have no idea what I feel like eating until the day. And if the product has a date that will last ages isn't that why we have fridge/freezers? And wouldn't the lobbyists telling us to reduce our carbon footprint welcome fewer shopping trips?

So next time you look in the fridge/freezer and panic and start throwing items out because they are near or past the date on the product...perhaps we should think again.

Update:Following on from my talk of when food should be used by I came across the following approx a week later and though slanted a certain way by the newspaper the basic facts are here.

I think the idea though based on common sense to be a waste of time and money especially with all the tv and radio programmes we have devoted to cooking and how to use food and what to buy. We have had a well known cook launch a campaign to teach the population basic cooking involving a tv series, a book and some local venues being opened offering courses.

Some short commercials or leaflets/booklets issued probably would be as good(and less expensive)than having someone knock at the door and start to advise about food management.

I would not be rude if I was caught by one of these people at my door but I would tell them that I was not interested and I think I know as much as anyone about what is the nutritional value of food and what I can do with it.

'food champions'