Great article by The Atlantic on why date codes are outdated. Expiration dates do not indicate the date at which food is safe to consume, but rather the date at which food is at its peak freshness (a murky definition that can vary by as much as 10 days between states).
“If there were ever a moment to wean ourselves off the habit of throwing out ‘expired’ but perfectly fine items because of excessive caution, it is now. Food waste has long been a huge climate issue – rotting food’s annual emissions in the U.S. approximate that of 42 coal-fired power plants – and with inflation’s brutal toll on grocery bills, it’s also a problem for your wallet. People throw away roughly $1,300 a year in wasted food.”
While the U.S. Congress is deliberating date code reforms, we at Evigence dream of replacing date codes with actual freshness data. Our Freshness Management System measures aggregate time and temperature exposure to give real-time data on actual remaining
“fresh life”, distinguishing between food at peak quality and food that’s safe for consumption.
We’re excited to see this critical issue gaining visibility, and we look forward to continued work with customers, policymakers and consumers to redefine freshness.