Front of the pack labeling is a boon to the consumers who can decide about their food purchases based on nutrient make up and desirable features of the product they are buying. But there is one aspect about which lot of confusion still persists and this is regarding the expiration date indicated on the label. One may recall the clarion call by one of the ministers in British Government recently not to waste food unnecessarily and cautioning the citizens against throwing every food pack that has crossed the expiration date. The million dollar question is whether the food contents are still edible after the expiration date and how safe they are. It is generally understood that if the content in a food pack does not show any changes in terms of smell, texture and other physical characteristics, it can still be consumed and many people are doing precisely the same these days because of economic compulsions. This issue is assuming more importance with more and more people ignoring the "best before" date which may have some safety implications and same is the subject matter of a recent report.
"Cash-strapped consumers are turning to a rather dangerous way to stretch their food dollars — they're ignoring expiration dates and keeping leftovers in the fridge for longer periods of time. In a recent survey, the Food Standards Agency in the UK found that one-third of respondents said that rather than throwing something out once it's expired, they rely on the look and smell of the food to gauge how safe it is to eat. And that can be risky. "With most of us seeing our weekly shopping bills increase over the last few years, we are all looking for ways to get the most out of our shopping budget," said Bob Martin, a food safety expert with the FSA, but he warns, "Bugs like E.coli and Salmonella don't cause food to smell off, even when they may have grown to dangerous levels. So food could look and smell fine but still be harmful." Andrew Wilson of the British Dietetic Association concurred and added, "A bout of food poisoning is not only unpleasant but could be potentially life threatening. There's no point in taking risks with food safety."
Of all the information contained on a label, expiration date is the most useful tool for the consumers obsessed with fresh foods. It is a common knowledge that the moment the food is harvested till it reaches the dining table, a series of chemical, physical and microbiological changes begin and what industry does is to extend the life of the material through processing and packing. But no matter what technology is deployed food continues to deteriorate, albeit slowly after processing, even under modified atmospheric conditions, and that is why expiration date is indicated for getting an idea of the time lapsed between manufacture and selling. In the true sense expiration date or "best before date" is only an estimate with regard to the eating quality of food and it does not reflect the safety limit. While consuming date expired foods, one has to make doubly sure that there are no hazardous microbial contamination that can cause injury to the consumer. This is more easily said than done. Probably a safe way of ensuring this is by heating the product sufficiently, if feasible, to destroy any microbes that might have gained entry into the packet.
V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com
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