when to be tolerant and when to throw away

Reading the expiration date before buying a product is of paramount importance. However, for some foods it is possible to make an exception to the rule.

Read the labelsluckily, it is one moda which is gaining ground in recent years. But if there’s one thing that even the least attentive pay attention to, it’s the expiration date of foods. This not only indicates by when it would be appropriate to eat a product but it is also an indication of its freshness: two identical products with different expiry dates also indicate that one food is fresher than the other.

The speech if throw away or not an expired product it is extremely complex and clashes with different mentalities: the most intransigent throw away even if the expiry date dates back to the day before, while others evaluate each case individually. Let’s try to understand how to orient ourselves in the world of expiration dates.

How to “interpret” the expiry date: is it mandatory?

In principle, as in all things, it should be the master common sense. Throwing away food just because it has expired for a day without evaluating its state of conservation generates considerable food waste.

For this reason, the first distinction to be made is between two wordings:

• a play “To be consumed before… “
• the other instead “Best before…”.

It is therefore evident that the second leaves a greater margin of decision and is less binding than the first.

This discourse is followed by another one. THE fresh products they usually have shorter expiration dates. Therefore tolerance is reduced: consuming them a few days after the expected date, if properly stored, shouldn’t cause problems. THE long-life products instead they have a maturity that often exceeds a year. In this case, even a week or two late will certainly not be a problem as long as the aforementioned assumption of correct conservation is valid.

When is it better to throw away?

There are cases in which a product should not be consumed if it has mold or swollen packaging, although the expiry date has not yet arrived. In fact, the foods have probably gone bad and are therefore no longer edible.

Last but not least aspect is to rely on the senses. First observe the food and check that there are no stains or moulds, then smell its smell and finally taste a small piece. If he has passed all three tests, then you can safely eat your meal.

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