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With the exception of infant formula, the laws that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) administers do not preclude the sale of food that is past the expirat
by jjoe 13y ago
With the exception of infant formula, the laws that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) administers do not preclude the sale of food that is past the expiration date indicated on the label. FDA does not require food firms to place "expired by", "use by" or "best before" dates on food products. This information is entirely at the discretion of the manufacturer.
A principle of U.S. food law is that foods in U.S. commerce must be wholesome and fit for consumption. A "best by", "use by" or expiration date does not relieve a firm from this obligation. A product that is dangerous to consumers would be subject to potential action by FDA to remove it from commerce regardless of any date printed on a label.
Source: http://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/transparency/basics/ucm210073.htm http://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/transparency/basics/ucm210073.ht...
- stephengillie 13y agoThis is news to me. Having worked for Safeway for many years, we held to those dates religiously.
- MichaelApproved 13y agoIt's like that was because it wouldn't be good to have customers see "expired" food on your shelves. As a customer, I wouldn't buy food which has gone past the expiration date. Sure, it could be fine to consume but I'd rather purchase food on that's well ahead of the expiration date. Especially since I may not cook/eat the food until a day or so later.
- r0h1n 13y agoThey usually are all over the world. But some interesting economics starts becoming apparent when packaged food products approach the last 1/3rd or 1/4th of their shelf life. For e.g. - near-expiry food products being exported from developed countries to developing ones (where they still command a premium over local products). I've found entire shelves of imported food products just months away from expiry (out of a total shelf life of, say, 2 years) - re-badging of expiry dates/lots by unscrupulous importers - 2 for 1 offers in supermarkets to liquidate near-expiry stock
- makomk 13y agoHere in the UK it's illegal to sell food after the "use by" date and every so often someone gets in trouble for it. ("Best before" dates, on the other hand, are advisory.)
- lancefisher 13y agoThe FDA may not require a sell by date, but other governing bodies might. There has been an ongoing dispute over sell by dates stamped on milk in Montana. Montana requires that the sell by date be set to 12 days after pasteurization. http://m.billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/judge-rejects-out-of-state-distributor-s-suit-to-overturn/article_b8740c2a-ff62-547e-a5ac-55386cd4f7b7.html?mobile_touch=true http://m.billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana...