App of the Week – USDA FoodKeeper

If you don’t know by now most expiration dates on food is inaccurate and misleads you into spending more money by throwing out perfectly good food. That’s why USDA FoodKeeper is the App of the Week.

The USDA has decided to do something about this problem by making it easier to research the real expiration date for food. The government FoodKeeper app allows you research food expiration dates based on how they’re stored not who sold it to you. The food item can be researched directly or you can check general categories. The app also gives you general cooking information and send you reminders when food goes bad.

For many people this app can save big money at the grocery store. The Natural Resources Defense Council issued a report saying that Americans are prematurely throwing out food, largely because of confusion over what expiration dates actually mean.

Experts suggest consumers need to re-educate themselves to exactly what food dating mean by understanding the definitions. Here is what you need to know.

• Use by and Best by – These dates are intended for consumer. They are typically the date the manufacturer deems the product reaches peak freshness. It’s not a date to indicate spoilage, nor does it necessarily signal that the food is no longer safe to eat.
• Sell by –This date was never intended to be used by the consumer. It is only intended to help manufacturers and retailers. It’s a stocking and marketing tool provided by food makers to ensure proper turnover of the products in the store so they still have a long shelf life after consumers buy them. Consumers, however, are misinterpreting it as a date to guide their buying decisions. The report authors say that “sell by” dates should be made invisible to the consumer.

Many consumers believe expiration dates on food indicate how safe the food is to consume. That’s not true. The dates found on packages aren’t actually related to the risk of food poisoning or foodborne illness.

According research words like “use by” and “sell by” are used so inconsistently that they contribute to widespread misinterpretation, and waste, by consumers. Ninety percent of Americans throw out food prematurely and 40 percent of the U.S. food supply is thrown out every year because of food dating. Food dating was never about public health.

Currently there is no federal regulation that governs food dating except for infant baby formula because its nutrients lose their potency over time. Although, technically, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture  do have regulatory power over the mis-branding of products.

FoodKeeper is available for Apple and Android devices.