How food producers calculate "best before" date?
Why I'm asking on SL? Because I'd rather not waste food to be sustainable. And many times I'm advised (by "best before" date put on food package) to waste some food product - but it looks perfectly fine and edible to me. By knowing how food producers calculate "best before" date I'd know also if I should follow those advices or not.
I know for example that France removed this kind of information from packages this year.
As this reference states,
Shelf life depends on the degradation mechanism of the specific product. Most can be influenced by several factors: exposure to light, heat, moisture, transmission of gases, mechanical stresses, and contamination by things such as micro-organisms. Product quality is often mathematically modelled around a parameter (concentration of a chemical compound, a microbiological index, or moisture content).
For some foods, health issues are important in determining shelf life. Bacterial contaminants are ubiquitous, and foods left unused too long will often be contaminated by substantial amounts of bacterial colonies and become dangerous to eat, leading to food poisoning. However, shelf life alone is not an accurate indicator of how long the food can safely be stored. For example, pasteurized milk can remain fresh for five days after its sell-by date if it is refrigerated properly. In contrast, if milk already has harmful bacteria, the use-by dates become irrelevant.
The expiration date of pharmaceuticals specifies the date the manufacturer guarantees the full potency and safety of a drug.
The date is determined by local\federal law based on all of the reasons listed above. It seems Water normally only has a two year best by date. If properly stored that 2 year shelf life on water can be longer. Id recommend boiling and filtering after two years however.
Imho, we should all havea basic understanding of what is good and what not. Tasting something or smelling it won't kill you immediatelly. And if you are not totally sure because you are not 100 % sure, better don't eat it.
Looking at the numbers is something you can do, but it doesn't always tell you the truth. I live in germany, and the joghurt I buy can still be eaten after 2 months if you kept it cold and closed.
But you should know if your food is eatable. From time to time I am dumpster diving and I take home a lot of food. You cannot always eat everything but most of the time you see or smell if already if it is too late. I only look on the numbers if it is about meat, because this can destroy you. Meat, milk products and eggs. Thats something you don't joke around. I'm also careful with this things if I am on dumpster diving!
