Eating soil-contaminated food, undercooked meat, or raw or unpasteurized dairy products can cause listeriosis. Listeria causes convulsions, unconsciousness, miscarriage, and birth abnormalities. It causes the third most food poisoning fatalities.
People frequently check the dates on food packaging in an effort to prevent hidden food dangers. The words “best by,” “use by,” “best if used before,” “best if used by,” “guaranteed fresh until,” “freeze by,” and on certain beers, “born on” are frequently printed alongside the month and year.
They are often regarded as the dates by which food should be thrown away or its expiry. However, the dates don’t really indicate when food goes bad or becomes less safe to consume.
Although 12% of a typical household’s income is spent on food, a lot of food that is absolutely fine to consume is just thrown out. Almost 31% of the food that is available is never eaten. The issue of waste is made even more worrisome by historically high food costs.
A large portion of the waste may be attributable to the present food labeling system. According to the FDA, consumer uncertainty about product date labels is probably to blame for around 20% of domestic food waste, which has a yearly economic impact of $161 billion.
Date labels are likely there for safety as the federal government regulates nutrition and ingredient labeling. Food labels must list nutrition and ingredients, including salt, sugar, and fat.
However, the dates that appear on those food containers are not controlled. They originate from food producers instead. Additionally, they could not be supported by scientific research on food safety.
For instance, a food manufacturer may poll consumers in a focus group to choose a “use by” date that is six months after the product was made since 60% of the group had changed their minds about the flavor. Smaller producers of a comparable dish may imitate them and use the same date on their own products.
Food item labels such as “best if used by” and “use by” indicate how long the item is safe to consume and when it becomes dangerous. However, applying these more subtle markers is optional.
According to NRDC-Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic research, food producers and distributors should target supermarkets and other retailers with “production” or “pack” dates in addition to “sell-by” dates. Retailers might determine from the dates how long a product will maintain its excellent quality.
The FDA labels some goods as “potentially hazardous foods” if they include qualities that encourage the growth of microorganisms, such as wetness and a profusion of nutrients that feed bacteria. These items, which have all been connected to significant foodborne outbreaks, include chicken, milk, and sliced tomatoes. However, there is currently no distinction between the date labeling on these commodities and that on foods that are more stable.
The only food item that has a “use by” date that is both governed by law and defined by science is infant formula. For contamination, normal lab testing is performed. However, nutritional tests are also performed on infant formula to ascertain how quickly the contents, notably protein, degrade. The “use by” date on baby formula shows when it is no longer nutrient-rich, helping to avoid infant malnutrition.
Food nutrients may be measured very easily. This is already routinely done by the FDA. When the nutritional amounts reported on food labels don’t match what the FDA’s lab discovers, the agency sends warnings to food companies.
Another scientific method for providing appropriate date labels on foods is through microbial investigations. A microbiological research in the lab can entail letting a perishable meal go bad and monitoring the amount of bacteria that develops in it over time. Another type of microbial study is conducted by researchers who deliberately introduce harmful microbes like listeria into food to observe what happens. They keep track of details like the amount of bacteria that grows over time and when there is enough to cause illness.
Due to the rising cost of food, determining the shelf life of food using scientific data on both its nutrition and safety might significantly reduce waste.
Consumers, however, might depend on their eyes and noses in the absence of a standardized food date system, choosing to throw away the fuzzy bread, green cheese, or musty-smelling bag of salad. For more perishable goods, such as cold cuts, where germs may readily thrive, people might also pay special attention to the dates on the packaging.
Conclusion
Listeria infections, also known as listeriosis, are a common cause of food poisoning fatalities. Food labels often contain dates such as “best by,” “use by,” “best if used before,” “guaranteed fresh until,” “freeze by,” and “born on” to indicate when food should be thrown away or its expiry. However, these dates do not indicate when food goes bad or becomes less safe to consume. Approximately 31% of food is never eaten, and the issue of waste is further exacerbated by high food costs. The FDA estimates that consumer uncertainty about product date labels is responsible for around 20% of domestic food waste, which has a yearly economic impact of $161 billion.
