Where is their conscience? Are they not thinking that many people can possibly die because of their greed for money? Or perhaps they read Harvard Health Publishing of Harvard Medical School ("Drug Expiration Dates -- Do They Mean Anything?") that "the effectiveness of a drug may decrease over time, but much of the original potency still remains even a decade after the expiration date". So it is important to check the manufacturing date.
Few years back I had a flatmate who was always excited when she purchased processed foods at very much low prices. She always looked for those items with shelf life soon to finish. Maybe it was also one reason she always suffered from some illnesses. I think the expenses were more than the money she saved in buying those expiring foods.
I buy processed foods, too, but I prefer fresh foods. When I buy chicken, I choose fresh cuts, not frozen.
Fresh foods are more expensive than those offered in the fast foods and packed in different containers -- reason most people prefer to eat in fast foods restaurants or just buy instant foods packed in cans and sachets. People look for those with longest shelf life -- without realizing that those with longest shelf life are the unhealthiest.
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the government is very strict when it comes to foods and beverages. There is a system in place to ensure that milk, dairy products, juice and bevarages are for safe human consumption. Recently His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued Cabinet Resolutions Nos 29 and 30. Related vendors and supplies must obtain conformity certificate parallel to governing rules and there must be a quality mark on said items. (Read more here.)
One time I overlooked checking the expiry date of a processed food, only to find out later that it did not show anything, maybe it faded because it was in the wet section (?) -- so I just threw it to the bin to be safe.
But come to think of it -- how many foods and beverages are wasted everyday at home, in the restaurants and supermarkets / stores, for expiry reason? On the surface we see only the wastage in the contents and containers, without realizing all related costs (from farmers to manufacturers to distributors and stores) which eventually would end up in trash cans and dumpsites. This means additional costs in trash collection, dumping and harm to environment.
Beepscan is an expiration date tracking solution. The website says "Flawless quality tracking is strictly connected to customer's safety. Selling expired products will cost your credibility and consumer's trust. BEEP will prevent such circumstances. Customers safety should come before everything."
This is recommended for the supermarket / store operators to immediately pull out expired goods from their shelves. But for consumers who store their foods in the refrigerator or cabinets or transfer them to containers, the expiry dates are sometimes forgotten, if not ignored.
Those intelligent bar code scanners can read the expiry dates with other data encoded, and machine to machine understand each other. Average buyers sometimes find it difficult to locate expiry dates or if there are, they are stamped over a text or image, or are printed in small and light grey ink, making it difficult to read. There are instances when they show no expiry date.
My niece who used to work in fast food chains advised me to check the date the product is manufactured if I cannot see the expiry date.
It will be a good idea to teach the public about the shelf life of foods and common terms or symbols manufacturers use in labelling their products.
Stilltasty.com is a very good website that advises users about the shelf life of a food or beverage. It has a search bar. I wrote my favorite 'salmon' -- and it showed different search options.
Since I like to buy raw salmon, I learned that it is good to keep it in the freezer from one (1) to two (2) days and in freezer two (2) to three (3) months. There are more useful tips written there. This is amazing! Thanks, stilltasty.com!
I always have magnifying glasses to properly check the expiry dates of my foods and beverages as well as medicines, then passionately mark the dates using black pentel pen on containers. If I have to transfer any item to a jar, I cut the label showing expiry dates and put it inside.
There are times when the expiry date of the food is a few days away, but there is a mold or you smell something bad. I always remember what my mother told me, "When in doubt, throw it out!" There are items which expired already but they still appear and smell good.
As consumers, we must know when foods, beverages and medicines are safe or unsafe to consume or take. It is plain common sense.
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Photo credits: Pixabay
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