Elusive Information

Summary

The author discusses the challenges and idiosyncrasies of finding "best by" dates on food items at a food pantry where they volunteer, emphasizing the lack of standardization in date labeling.

Abstract

The article describes the author's experience with donated food items at a food pantry, where food near its expiration date is often donated. While the food is still safe to consume, the author notes the difficulty in locating "best by" dates on packaging, citing an example with a jar of red pepper puree from Trader Joe's. The author advocates for a consistent placement of these dates to avoid wasting time searching for them. Despite their own comfort with consuming products past their "best by" date, the author acknowledges that others, including friends, may be more cautious.

Opinions

The author believes that the current practice of date labeling is inconsistent and could be improved by standardizing the location of "best by" dates on packaging.
There is a hint of frustration regarding the time spent searching for date stamps, which the author feels is unnecessary.
The author values the donations and the dual benefit they provide: helping companies with charitable contributions and providing food for those in need.
The author is pragmatic about food safety, understanding that "best by" dates do not necessarily indicate spoilage and that many products are safe to consume past these dates.
There is a touch of irony in the author's tone when recounting how a friend easily found an expiration date on a jar of jam that the author had missed.

Best-by dates: seek and ye shall find. Or not.

I volunteer in a food pantry inundated by surplus perishables that are donated on the cusp of expiration. A win-win: the company writes off the retail cost as a charitable contribution, our patrons get good food that would have been trashed on a technicality. We also receive donations of shelf-stable goods, most of which come courtesy of holiday food drives; the remainder comprises random drop-offs.

Volunteers cull products that are “out of code”; most of these so-called expired goods are, if not at their peak of flavor, safe to consume. We volunteers are free to take these items.

As for cans and jars past “best if used by” date, we offer those to customers, after pointing out that the contents are good for many months to come. Some customers decline to take these; they’re up for grabs.

I do more than my share of grabbing; my cabinets overflow with orphaned jars of olives, condiments, and sundry sauces.

I spent five minutes this morning examining a jar of red pepper puree for “best if used by” date. The distributor, Trader Joe’s, has a stellar reputation; I was certain their product would be properly marked. Nonetheless, I could not find a date stamp anywhere: not on the label, the glass, the lid, the bottom.

I was about to give up when, as I reached to replace the jar, my eye caught a date stamp on the glass, right under the rim. The marking had been obscured by the contents; I chanced to see it when I tipped the jar toward the shelf.

As I said, I have no concerns about consuming outdated products; regardless, some of my friends do, in particular the one to whose cookout I had hoped to take the jar. (I didn’t: best by 4–30–2019.)

There are no US federal regulations on date labeling, notwithstanding which there should at least be consistency in positioning. Best By dates, if provided, should be stamped on top of cans and on lids of jars. This way, we wouldn’t waste time searching for them.

Ironic that, no matter how diligent I am in scanning for date stamps, when I gave a presumably dateless jar of jam to the aforementioned friend last Christmas, she homed right in on: Best by 09–30–2013.