Food expiration dates don’t mean what you think - Carolyn Beans

Translator: Aubrey Cheng Reviewer: Thomas Tam

How much of the food in your fridge will you toss before it reaches the table?

你雪櫃入面嘅食物有幾多 會喺送上飯枱之前就掉咗？

Hamburger buns from last summer’s picnic? Milk past its sell-by date?

喺舊年夏天野餐剩低嘅漢堡包？ 過咗保質期嘅牛奶？

Carrots that lost their crunch?

定係已經唔爽脆嘅紅蘿蔔？

Countries around the world waste huge amounts of food every year,

每年，世界各地浪費大量食物

and the United States is one of the worst offenders.

而美國係其中一個 浪費最嚴重嘅國家

37% of US food waste comes from individual households.

美國食物浪費有三成七 嚟自個人家庭

And roughly 20% of those food items are tossed because consumers aren’t sure

其中約莫兩成嘅食物掉咗 係因為消費者唔清楚

how to interpret the dates they’re labeled with.

點樣理解食物標籤上嘅日期

But most of those groceries are still perfectly safe to eat.

但大部分嘅食物 其實依然可以安全食用

So if the dates on our food don’t tell us that something’s gone bad,

咁如果食物上嘅日期 唔係話俾我哋知啲嘢幾時壞咗

what do they tell us?

佢哋究竟表示啲乜？

Before the 20th century,

喺二十世紀之前

the path between where food was produced and where it was eaten

由製造食物 到食用地方之間嘅途徑

was much more direct,

嚟得直接得多

and most people knew how to assess freshness using sight, smell, and touch.

而大部分人識得憑外觀、氣味同觸感 去評估食物新唔新鮮

But when supermarkets began stocking processed foods,

但當超市開始積存加工食品後

product ages became harder to gauge.

究竟啲食物擺咗幾耐 就難以估計

In the US, grocers used packaging codes

喺美國，食品雜貨商採用包裝代碼

to track how long food had been on the shelves,

去追蹤住食物擺上貨架嘅時間

and in the 1970s, consumers demanded in on that info.

而喺 70 年代 消費者更要求得到呢啲資訊

Many supermarkets adopted a system still in place today called open dating,

好多超市至今仍然採用呢種 叫做「公開標註日期」嘅系統

where food manufacturers or retailers labeled products with dates

食品製造商或者零售商 須要喺食品上標示日期

indicating optimum freshness.

嚟顯示最佳新鮮程度

This vague metric had nothing to do with expiration dates or food safety.

呢個咁空泛嘅指標 同食品過期或者安全食用毫無關係

In fact, it’s rarely decided with any scientific backing,

事實上，呢種做法背後 都係冇乜科學根據

and there are usually no rules around what dates to use.

通常都冇規則訂明 應該用邊啲日子

So most manufacturers and retailers are motivated to set these dates early,

所以大部分食品製造商 同零售商都傾向攞個早啲日子

ensuring customers will taste their food at its best and come back for more.

確保顧客喺食物最新鮮嗰陣享用 下次會再返嚟幫襯

This means many foods are safe to eat far beyond their labeled dates.

即係話好多食品喺過咗標籤日期之後 都係可以安全食用

Old cookies, pasta, and other shelf-stable groceries might taste stale,

擺咗好耐嘅曲奇、意粉同其他耐儲存嘅食品 食落可能味道會唔新鮮

but they aren’t a health risk.

但佢哋唔會危害健康

Canned foods can stay safe for years,

罐頭食物可以擺好耐

so long as they don't show signs of bulging or rusting.

只要罐身冇凸起 或者生鏽就可以食用

Low freezer temperatures keep bacteria that cause food poisoning in check,

雪櫃低溫處理 可抑制食物產生中毒嘅細菌

preserving properly stored frozen dinners indefinitely.

冷凍係無限期妥善儲存晚餐嘅方法

Refrigerated eggs are good for up to five weeks,

雞蛋放喺雪櫃 可以儲存五個禮拜

and if they spoil, your nose will let you know.

如果啲雞蛋壞咗 你個鼻會聞得出

And you can always spot spoiled produce by off odors, slimy surfaces, and mold.

而你由異味、滑潺潺嘅表面同霉菌度 分辨到啲壞咗嘅農產品

Of course, there are some cases where you’re better safe than sorry.

當然，某啲情況 都係寧願掉咗佢好過冒險啦﹗

The USDA recommends eating or freezing meat within days of purchase.

美國農業部建議將買番嚟嘅肉類 喺幾日內食完或者急凍

Beyond their printed dates,

過咗期嘅

ready-to-eat salads, deli meats, and unpasteurized cheeses

即食沙律、熟食肉類 同冇經巴斯德式消毒嘅芝士

are more likely to carry pathogenic bacteria

係比較容易傳播致病嘅細菌

that can slip past a smell or taste test.

而你憑嗅覺同味覺 都察覺唔到

And the dates on infant formula are regulated to indicate safety.

至於嬰兒奶粉配方係受到規管 須要標示安全日期

But while some of these labels work as intended, the vast majority don’t.

雖然有啲標籤發揮到預期嘅作用 但係極大部分都冇做到

In a 2019 survey of over 1,000 Americans,

喺 2019 年嘅調查 訪問咗超過一千個美國人

more than 70% said they use date labels to decide if food is still edible,

多過七成人表示會以日期標籤 去判斷啲食物重食唔食得

and nearly 60% said they’d toss any food past those dates.

而接近六成人就表示會掉咗 任何過期嘅食物

餐廳同食品雜貨商 通常都會咁樣做

Restaurants and grocers often do the same.

To avoid all this waste, many experts advocate for laws

為要避免浪費食物 好多專家主張要立法

to require that date labels use one of two standardized phrases:

要求日期標籤 必須用兩種標準句語之一：

“Best if used by,” to indicate freshness, or “Use by” to indicate safety.

「此日期前最佳」表示新鮮度 「此日期或之前食用」表示食用安全期

This solution isn't perfect,

呢個解決方法並非完美

but some US researchers estimate that setting these standards at a federal level

但有啲美國研究員估計 喺聯邦層面制定呢啲標準

could prevent roughly 398,000 tons of food waste annually.

可以避免每年浪費 大約三十九萬八千噸嘅食物

Grocers could also try removing date labels on produce,

雜貨商亦可以嘗試 搣走喺農產品嘅食物標籤

as several UK supermarket chains have done

正如英國幾間連鎖超市咁做

to encourage consumers to use their own judgement.

鼓勵消費者靠自己做判斷

Many experts also advocate for policies incentivizing grocers and restaurants

好多專家亦提倡制訂政策 獎勵食品雜貨商同餐廳

to donate unsold food.

捐出賣唔出嘅食物

Currently, confusion around dates has led at least 20 US states

目前，對於保質期造成嘅疑惑 令美國至少有二十個州

to restrict donating food past its labeled date,

限制捐贈過咗標籤上保質期嘅食物

even though the federal government actually protects such donations.

其實，縱使聯邦政府 有保護呢種類型嘅捐贈

Countries like France go even further,

法國呢類國家更進取

requiring that many supermarkets donate unsold food.

要求多間超市捐贈賣唔出嘅食物

唔理政府點樣決定

Regardless of what your government decides,

the best way to prevent food waste is to eat what you buy!

防止浪費食物嘅最佳方法 係食曬買嚟嘅食物

And don’t forget that your eyes, nose, and tongue

唔好唔記得你對眼 鼻哥同埋條脷

are usually all you need to decide if food is fit for consumption

通常係用嚟決定 究竟啲食物係唔係重食得

or the compost bin.

定係掉落堆肥箱度