SALT LAKE CITY -- More people are pulling out their food storage these days, but when is it safe to eat? What do all those dates stamped on the box or can really mean?
There's a sell-by date, best-if-used-by date, or expiration date. Nutritionist Sara Oldroyd with the Utah State University extension service says those dates are a guide.
"They are kind of all the same: best-if-used-by, sell-by. If you use it by that date, you are going to get the best quality and best nutritional value," she said.
About the best-by date, Oldroyd says, "That's when you are going to get the best quality, the best nutritional value, the best texture in the food. You can use it after that but you have to be smart about it. You have to smell it and look at it and make sure everything looks right."
The sell-by date is a notice to the store to have it off their shelves by then. "The sell-by date, they put that date on there to let the distributor know, get rid of it by this date and your consumers will be happy," she said.
Expiration dates are similar to the best-by date.
So what about the can of soup in my desk marked July 2006?
"Yeah you could pop it open and set it on the stove and see how it turns out. I probably wouldn't," Oldroyd said.
She says home or store-bought canned goods should be used within three years.
Many boxed or canned items can be used even a few years past the date stamped on them, but Oldroyd says dates don't guarantee safety. Dents in cans can lead to odorless, tasteless botulism, and leaving meat or milk out on the counter can cause salmonella, so dates don't guarantee safety.
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
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