California food product dating
(MORE: Bad Food: Illnesses from Imported Foods Are on the Rise, CDC Says) Correcting these entrenched misconceptions, however, won’t be easy.
The report authors say the re-education could start with a clearer understanding of what the dates mean.
Most consumers mistakenly believe that expiration dates on food indicate how safe the food is to consume, when these dates actually aren’t related to the risk of food poisoning or foodborne illness.While the food industry could make changes to date labels voluntarily — such as having the dates read when food is most likely to spoil — the study authors also call for legislation by Congress to develop national standards that would standardize a single set of dating requirements.Such standards may already be in the works; following the release of the report, Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland), the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee and author of the Freshness Disclosure Act says she will be reintroducing legislation to Congress that calls for establishing a consistent food dating system in the U. “I look forward to reintroducing this legislation this Congress and working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fix this glaring gap in our nation’s food safety laws so that American consumers have the information they need,” Lowey said in a statement.Jena Roberts, vice president for business development at the food testing firm, National Food Lab, studies “shelf-stable” properties of foods to help manufacturers determine what date indicates when their products are at their best.
“The food has to be safe, that’s a given,” says Roberts.
That means the food does not expire in the sense of becoming inedible.