Are best-before dates on food necessary? Some food charities say it’s time to reevaluate | 24CA News
People could have the unsuitable concept about best-before dates on their favorite meals.
And now, there’s a name on the federal government to reevaluate whether or not best-before dates on meals are even needed.
John Bailey, the CEO of the Regina Food Bank, stated best-before dates are sometimes intertwined with expiry dates, however the two are very totally different.
“The idea of a best-before date is about peak freshness and quality control,” Bailey defined. “(With) expiry dates, once it is surpassed, you start to run into potential issues with contamination and the food not being healthy.
Bailey said with best-before dates, depending on the food, there is a large grace period when foods are actually okay to eat.
“Anywhere from a few weeks to several months to even a year or so beyond is when you can still sort of safely … enjoy the food that is past the best-before date.”
For objects corresponding to dairy, produce and meat, nonetheless, the meals can rapidly go downhill after the best-before date. Bailey stated the most secure solution to examine is to scent the meals quite than taste-testing it.
Second Harvest, a Food Rescue Charity in Canada, is elevating the alarm on the misunderstanding between best-before dates and expiry dates.
They say the problem is resulting in pointless meals waste and meals insecurity. And now, they’re calling on the federal authorities to deal with it.
“People are throwing food away and people are struggling to put food on their tables, but people are still throwing it away because they think it’s a food safety issue and it’s simply not,” Lori Nikkel, Second Harvest CEO stated when discussing best-before dates.
Nikkel stated the problem isn’t solely taking place at a family stage, however in any respect ranges of the manufacturing practice.
“It’s across the supply chain and it is trailer loads of food being dumped because of an arbitrary best-before date,” she stated.
With rising inflation, Bailey stated extra individuals than ever are turning to meals banks, so any modifications to one of the best earlier than dates is a win for them.
“We live in a country that produces more than enough food for every citizen, yet we have seven or eight million people who are facing food insecurity on a daily basis,” Bailey stated. “Anything we can do to sort of eliminate waste and get good quality food into people’s hands is bound to be helpful.”
Nikkel stated Second Harvest isn’t calling for the removing of best-before dates, however quite a re-examination of what meals require them — one thing she argues ought to solely be stated of a handful of meals, together with those who expire.
“We’re asking the government to investigate this,” Nikkel stated. “Nobody is advocating for people to eat bad foods. What we would like to do is remove best-before dates on foods that don’t require it.”
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