⏲Sell-by dates: Is it time to toss them?

When it comes to the last few drops of milk in the jug, or that long-forgotten deli meat in the fridge, the most accurate method is often the most rudimentary: “Honey, will you smell this?” Sure, there’s probably a date on the label—but though it seems scientific, it’s not much more useful than using our [fantastically sensitive noses](. The designations “sell by,” “use by,” and “best if used by” are ambiguous at best, and the confusion they create has huge consequences. The United States could save an estimated [400,000 tons of wasted food every year]( by adopting standardized, more comprehensible date labeling. About a quarter of US methane emissions comes from [food rotting in landfills]( globally, [10%]( of carbon emissions come from food that never gets eaten. Why is it so hard to talk about food freshness? Practices differ around the world, and regulations are few and far between. So despite 40 years of trying, we haven’t found a concise way to communicate about something so inherently opaque. In some ways, the process is as fraught as determining whether that salami has, in fact, gone bad. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Sponsored by [Quartz Obsession] Sell-by dates October 15, 2018 Passing the sniff test --------------------------------------------------------------- When it comes to the last few drops of milk in the jug, or that long-forgotten deli meat in the fridge, the most accurate method is often the most rudimentary: “Honey, will you smell this?” Sure, there’s probably a date on the label—but though it seems scientific, it’s not much more useful than using our [fantastically sensitive noses](. The designations “sell by,” “use by,” and “best if used by” are ambiguous at best, and the confusion they create has huge consequences. The United States could save an estimated [400,000 tons of wasted food every year]( by adopting standardized, more comprehensible date labeling. About a quarter of US methane emissions comes from [food rotting in landfills]( globally, [10%]( of carbon emissions come from food that never gets eaten. Why is it so hard to talk about food freshness? Practices differ around the world, and regulations are few and far between. So despite 40 years of trying, we haven’t found a concise way to communicate about something so inherently opaque. In some ways, the process is as fraught as determining whether that salami has, in fact, gone bad. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Reuters/Marcelo del Pozo By the digits [$160 billion:]( Value of food Americans waste every year [1/3:]( Proportion of Swedish food waste connected to labeling [57%:]( Share of American food waste represented by dairy products [$455:]( Value of edible food a US household of four wastes annually because of label confusion [¥60,000 ($536):]( Value of edible food a Japanese household of four wastes annually [36%:]( Share of American consumers who incorrectly believe date labels are federally regulated [41:]( US states with food-dating regulations [$5.50:]( Amount Washington, DC dumpster-diver William Reid spent on food over two years [40°F:]( Temperature your fridge should be set at or below Charted[atlas_rkGelv-yX@2x] Sponsored by Citrix For today's executives, work is no longer tethered to a single location. --------------------------------------------------------------- From the boardroom to the back seat of a cab, the workplace is dynamic, and CEOs can dive in anywhere with an internet connection. But they need IT that can get them through their busy days without sacrificing security. This interactive shows how CEOs can choose the right tech.[Read on qz.com]( Giphy Explain it like I’m 5! Dating etiquette --------------------------------------------------------------- So how do you navigate sell-by dates? [According to the USDA]( “best by” means what it says—after that date, the food won’t taste as good. “Sell by” is an instruction to the store. “Use by” is basically the same as “best by.” (One important exception: Infant formula has a strict expiration date and shouldn’t be used beyond it.) Poultry and sausage go fastest, [just a day or two]( after the “sell by” date; pork and beef last for three to five days. Bread and dairy are good for about a week, and eggs for about a month. Save The Food has an [exhaustive list]( of foods and how long they can be stored. Canned goods can last for years: in 1974, scientists cracked open a [40-year-old can of corn]( and found that it looked and smelled normal and had retained most of its nutritional content. They didn’t taste it, though. Reuters/Justin Tallis Brief history The birth and death of expiration --------------------------------------------------------------- The dating of food products goes back to the 1930s, as the industrialization and centralization of food manufacturing was gaining steam. At first, the practice was only for manufacturers to keep tabs on their products—what’s now called “closed dating.” It wasn’t until the 1970s that the more transparent “open dating” arose as a result of the [consumer-activist movement]( and a reaction to processed food putting people [at a remove]( from the fresh stuff. In the ’70s, stores and government bodies responded to the pressure; in the US, 75 pieces of open-dating legislation were [introduced]( by 1973. The US General Accounting Office pushed for a uniform open-dating system, and the FDA, USDA, and Federal Trade Commission [held hearings]( on the subject, but no federal rules were ever passed. In the 1990s, big businesses realized there was a marketing opportunity in food freshness, with Anheuser-Busch giving its beers “born on” dates and Pepsi adding “freshness dates.” Wait, fresh Pepsi? “Those guys on Madison Avenue are so smart,” the director of nutrition for the Center for Science in the Public Interest [told]( the New York Times. “It’s not as if they’re saying Pepsi is good for you. It’s a little more subtle.” And that is the crux of the modern critique of the dates: they do little to protect the consumer, or accurately reflect the quality of the food. Their primary function is to[protect a brand’s reputation](. Fun fact! In 1977, New York State’s Consumer Protection Board published more than [10,000 copies]( of a booklet that taught consumers how to read manufacturers’ dating codes. [For example]( “F629” on a General Mills product translated (for some reason) to November 29, 1976. The pamphlet was titled [Blind Dates](. Million-dollar question Can't tech solve this dating dilemma? --------------------------------------------------------------- Cutting food waste saves money for consumers, but entrepreneurs are seeing profits there too. They’re creating grocery stores for expired or about-to-expire food like WeFood in Copenhagen or [Daily Table]( in Massachusetts, along with apps that promise to save money by connecting consumers with food that will soon be discarded, like [Flashfood]( [Too Good to Go]( and [YourLocal](. What if packaging existed that actually told us when food is going bad? A few have been developed, like a label that uses gelatin to [mimic]( the freshness of the food inside. When the gelatin goes bad, the label changes shape. Another is a bottle that [changes color]( when the pH value of the contents change. Reuters/Benoit Tessier Pop quiz How much expired food did the directors of "Just Eat It" scavenge in six months? $2,000$20,000$5,000$10,000 Correct. Canadian filmmakers Jen Rustemeyer and Grant {NAME} found far more than they expected in and around the garbage bins of stores while making the food-waste documentary, though $13,000 of that was in organic chocolate bars. Incorrect. Higher! If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Watch this! Jerry Seinfeld—of course—has a bit on getting the most out of milk before it expires. Reuters/Hannah McKay QQ Why does the US and Japan refrigerate eggs? --------------------------------------------------------------- [To protect against Salmonella.]( So why doesn’t the rest of the world? [To protect against Salmonella.]( Allow us to explain. In the US, large egg producers are required to wash their eggs to remove chicken poop, a common vector for the bacteria. That also washes off the egg’s “cuticle,” a natural barrier that protects against bacteria, so the eggs are refrigerated to extend their shelf life. In Europe, farmers aren’t allowed to wash their eggs; instead they’re required to vaccinate their hens so they don’t get Salmonella in the first place. This one weird trick! What would Denmark do? --------------------------------------------------------------- The Danes have had considerable success in cutting food waste—its down [25% in the last five years](. How’d they do it? [First, incentives.]( Food is expensive there. Second, low-hanging fruit (though not literally): Until recently, Danish restaurants didn’t encourage diners to [take home](. Third, it’s a [foodie culture]( and not wasting food was seen a way to respect farmers and chefs. Finally, a charismatic activist: [Selina Juul, 2014 Dane of the Year](. A Russian immigrant, Juul was shocked not only how much food was available in her adopted home, but how much was wasted, and over the years turned the cause into a crusade. Quotable “Pick out some Brazilian nuts for your engagement / Check that expiration date, man, it’s later than you think.” —Pavement, [“We Dance”]( Giphy Poll Do you pay attention to sell-by dates? [Click here to vote]( CloselyOccasionallyI only trust my nose 💬let's talk! In last week’s poll about [walking]( 41% of you said you’re not step counters. 📧 Roberta wrote: “I just got back from a stay in Barcelona, which has large preindustrial neighborhoods built before the automobile—narrow, winding, full of history, sculptural decorations, and street art. I walked for hours every day, much more than I do at home, without even thinking about it. There are many reasons to love Barcelona, but I believe the human-scale aspect made possible by walking is one of them.” 📧 Laura wrote: “Sidewalk scooters, Segways, skateboards, and other replacements for walking are now widely used in many American cities. We used to walk miles in the city just to do errands. Not so much the younger generations. 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