The average American family wastes about 14% of the food they buy – that’s about $600 a year. And, according to experts, a lot of that food is perfectly safe, even though it may have passed its expiration date.
It only makes sense to toss out food that is past the date on its package that says “expiration.” You want to keep your family safe, so the word expired doesn’t seem like something that should mix with their diet. However, most of us don’t realize that “use by” dates are recommendations based on freshness, taste and nutritional value. They aren’t the date at which the food will no longer be safe to eat. ShelfLifeAdvice.com is full of great tips for how long properly stored food should stay fresh. Here are a few key tips to being safe, but not wasteful:
- Milk: If properly refrigerated, milk will remain safe, nutritious, and tasty for about a week after the sell-by date and will probably be safe to drink longer than that, though there’s a decline in nutritional value and taste.
- Cottage cheese: Pasteurized cottage cheese lasts for 10-14 days after the date on the carton.
- Mayonnaise: Unopened, refrigerated Kraft mayonnaise can be kept for 30 days after its expiration date or 3-4 months after opening, the company told ShelfLifeAdvice.
- Yogurt: Yogurt will remain good 7-10 days after its sell-by date.
- Eggs: Properly refrigerated eggs should last at least 3-5 weeks after the sell-by date, according to Professor Joe Regenstein, a food scientist at Cornell University. Note: Use of either a sell-by or expiration (EXP) date is not federally required, but may be state required, as defined by the egg laws in the state where the eggs are marketed.
Of course, the rule of thumb, no matter how long the item has been in the fridge, is the “yuck” rule. If it looks, smells or tastes yucky, don’t eat it.
