Consumers misinterpret expiration dates - NSF survey

Source：NSF International Release Date：2014-08-12 237

Food & Beverage

In the US, many consumers misinterpret food packaging dates. For instance, one in four don't throw away food past its expiration date.

A SURVEY by the NSF International in the United States found that consumers still get confused about how to interpret food packaging, including “best used by” and “sell by” dates. This results in many to throw away good food or to keep food beyond expiration. One in four (27% ) Americans don’t throw away food by the expiration date, which may expose them to Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli. About 51% said they threw away food based on “best used by” and 37% said they based on “sell by” dates, unsuspectingly throwing away good food.

NSF said that perhaps because of this perception, about 64% said they relied on their senses to decide when to throw away food, with nearly half saying they used visual cues (seeing mold or colour changes) as indicators of freshness, whilst 17% said they based on food smells.

NSF is a Pan-American health organisation/World Health Organization collaborating centre on food safety, water quality and indoor environment.

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