Sunday 24 November 2013

Information About Food Expiration & Sell-By Dates

By Keren Kipfer


Often when we purchase food products or beverages we don't look at the expiration dates printed on the packaging. On the other hand, some people are careful not to purchase products where the date is soon to expire. But what do these dates actually mean and are these foods still safe to eat and use? There are important reasons why these details are included on packaging, but they don't always mean that your food is automatically bad. Read on and learn a little bit about these dates.

It is always noteworthy for consumers to look at expiration dates for several important items such as foods, drinks and medicines. However, before you throw away any of these items that have a date that has already passed, try to ponder on one truth: that sometimes dates are not truly expiration dates and the quality of the item is still fine days and weeks or even months after this printed date. There are a few cases where the government sets the expiration date and these dates truly are meant to be taken literally. Items where you need to truly follow the expiration dates are baby foods and formulas which have dates that are put into place to ensure the safety of your children.

Sell-by dates are basically dates used for products which are perishable such as milk, beef, poultry, meat items and seafood. You may find stores selling these items by their date but you should know that it is still possible for you to store them in your fridge for a time. While the store won't sell an item after this date, a steak a day or two passed the sell-by date is probably fine and you could even freeze it for a few months and then thaw it and safely consume the product. As a rule of thumb such products can still be consumed quite finely as long as their smell and looks are well.

"Best if used by" or "use by" dates can be found used for shelf-stable items like your typical canned foods, boxed pastas, mayonnaise or any other similar items. The manufacturers of such products have these details to inform consumers that they are at the peak of freshness prior to that date. This doesn't mean that a canned good with a month-old expiration date is bad; it simply means the quality might be reduced. As for the doubt that may still be lingering there on whether to consume or not a certain product, your sense of smell and taste will still hold the best judgment.

There are special machines that print these expiration and sell-by dates onto package. These id coders, as they are known, also responsible for printing serial numbers and batch numbers onto a variety of materials including glass jars, aluminum cans, foil bags, cardboard and more. These coders work very quickly and the ink used in an id coder dries quickly as well. There are quite a few brands of coders, including Altima coders, Imaje coders, Willett coders, Domino coders and others.

Replacement inks and make-up for these id coders are always needed by companies using coders. But you should know that making such purchase from your coder's manufacturer could be quite costly. What you need in order to save money is to find a special product id company selling generic versions of such inks. When you find them, you will delight in the fact that they sell generic versions of Domino ink, Imaje ink, Willett ink as well as other brands at great quality but at a much lower cost.




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