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

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

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

你冰箱中有多少食品在被 送上桌之前就會被你丟掉？

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

去年夏天野餐留下的漢堡麵包？

過了保質日期的牛奶？

Carrots that lost their crunch?

已經不脆的胡蘿蔔？

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

每年，世界各地的國家 浪費了大量的食品，

and the United States is one of the worst offenders.

而美國是浪費最嚴重的國家之一。

37% of US food waste comes from individual households.

美國的食品浪費有 37%

來自於個人家戶。

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

那些食品中有 20% 被丟棄的 原因是因為消費者不確定

how to interpret the dates they’re labeled with.

如何詮釋食品上標示的日期。

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

但那些食品大部分 仍然完全可以安心食用。

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

那麼，如果食品上的日期 並非告訴我們食物何時壞掉，

what do they tell us?

那它們要傳遞的資訊是什麼？

Before the 20th century,

在二十世紀以前，

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

從食品被生產的地方到食品 被吃掉的地方之間的路徑

was much more direct,

更直接許多，

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

且大部分人能從外觀、 味道，和觸感來評估新鮮度。

But when supermarkets began stocking processed foods,

但當超級市場開始銷售加工食品，

product ages became harder to gauge.

就越來越難估計產品放了多久。

In the US, grocers used packaging codes

在美國，

雜貨業者會用包裝上的代碼 來追蹤食物上架了多久，

to track how long food had been on the shelves,

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

在 1970 年代，消費者 要求獲得這些資訊。

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

許多超級市場採用了一種 至今仍在使用的系統，叫做

公開標註日期，

where food manufacturers or retailers labeled products with dates

食品製造商或零售商 要在產品上標示日期，

indicating optimum freshness.

說明最佳新鮮度。

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

這種模糊的指標，和過期日期 或食品安全完全無關。

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

事實上，決定這些日期的方式 背後也很少有科學根據，

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

通常也沒有規則規定要用什麼日期。

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

所以，大部分的製造商和零售商 會想要把日期設早一點，

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

確保客人會在食品狀況 最佳的時候品嚐它們，

並再回購更多。

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

這表示許多食品在其標示日期 過後許久還可以安心食用。

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

放久的餅干、義大利麵， 和其他能長時間保存的食品

可能吃起來會不新鮮，

but they aren’t a health risk.

但不會造成健康風險。

Canned foods can stay safe for years,

罐裝食品保存數年都很安全，

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

只要罐子沒有凸起或生鏽即可。

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

低溫冷凍庫能抑制 會造成食物中毒的細菌，

preserving properly stored frozen dinners indefinitely.

只要有正確儲存，冷凍晚餐 就能夠永久保存下去。

Refrigerated eggs are good for up to five weeks,

冷藏雞蛋保存五週後都還很好，

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

如果腐壞了，你可以聞得出來。

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

你通常可以用這些方式 辨識腐壞的農產品：異味、

黏稠的表面，及霉菌。

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

當然，在某些情況下， 你會寧可安全第一。

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

美國農業部建議肉類在購買後 幾天內就要吃掉或冷凍起來。

Beyond their printed dates,

若超過標示日期，

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

即食沙拉、熟食肉類， 以及未經巴氏消毒的乳酪

are more likely to carry pathogenic bacteria

比較可能會帶有致病細菌，

that can slip past a smell or taste test.

靠嗅覺或味覺測試可能 無法發現這些細菌。

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

嬰兒配方奶粉所標示的日期 則受法規管制必須代表安全性。

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

雖然有些標示能發揮預期作用，

但大部分不能。

In a 2019 survey of over 1,000 Americans,

在 2019 年一項針對一千多名 美國人做的研究中，

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

超過 70% 的受訪者說 他們會用日期標示

來判斷食品是否還能食用，

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

近 60% 的受訪者說他們會把 超過這些日期的食品丟棄。

Restaurants and grocers often do the same.

餐廳和雜貨業者通常也會這麼做。

To avoid all this waste, many experts advocate for laws

為了避免這種浪費， 許多專家主張立法

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

要求日期標示必須要用 這兩種標準措詞之一：

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

「最佳賞味期限」來說明新鮮度，

或「賞味期限」來說明安全性。

This solution isn't perfect,

這個解決方案並不完美，

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

但有些美國研究者估計， 在聯邦層級制定這些標準

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

每年就能預防大約三十九萬 八千公噸的食物浪費。

Grocers could also try removing date labels on produce,

雜貨業者也可以試著除去 農產品上的日期標示，

as several UK supermarket chains have done

英國有好幾家超級市場 連鎖店都這麼做，

to encourage consumers to use their own judgement.

旨在鼓勵消費者自己做判斷。

Many experts also advocate for policies incentivizing grocers and restaurants

許多專家還主張制定政策 來獎勵雜貨業者和餐廳

to donate unsold food.

捐出沒有賣出的食品。

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

目前，因為日期造成的困惑， 已經導致美國至少有二十州

to restrict donating food past its labeled date,

限制捐贈已過標示日期的食品，

even though the federal government actually protects such donations.

即使聯邦政府其實 是有保護這類捐贈的。

Countries like France go even further,

法國這類國家還更進一步，

requiring that many supermarkets donate unsold food.

要求許多超級市場必須要 捐出未賣出的食品。

Regardless of what your government decides,

不論你的政府做出怎樣的決定，

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

預防食物浪費的最佳方式， 就是吃掉你購買的食物。

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

別忘了，你有眼睛、鼻子， 和舌頭，通常這些

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

就足以協助你判斷食物 是適合進到肚子

or the compost bin.

還是廚餘桶。