Jeez, Abba, we can’t use this stuff at all!

Ah, yes, my eldest has come to visit and doesn’t approve of my fridge holdings. Because she, like so many others, doesn’t understand the markings imprinted on food packages.

I. on the other hand, had to determine what reasonable shelf lives would be for a slew of foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.

So, let’s take the most extreme example. (Please do not use this logic for the foods in your fridge. It will become clear why soon.) Years ago, I developed a liquid medical product. We did a slew of testing – not just of efficacy, but also to discern what would be a reasonable shelf-life. Our data indicated that two years would impose no safety concerns. So, we employed the 2 year expiration date. (In other words, for products made on 15 May 1984, the label indicated “Expiry Date: 14 May 1986”.)

And, so we operated for a few years. As sales grew, and we were producing more and more products product on a daily basis. I recognized that I was guaranteeing some $ 10 million of product- or more. So, I called in our board and presented my idea. Henceforth, we would reconfigure all our machines to provide one a 1 year shelf life. Did anything change in our product formulation? Heck, no. But, when we were just starting out, I wasn’t really worried about $ 200K of product exposure. As we grew, that $ 10 or $ 15 million exposure kept me up at nights. They agreed- and we changed it.

But, we’ve been involved in other products. Where we had initially determined that the shelf life could be 18 months. So, we provided a 1 year expiration. And, everything was hunky dory until a new strain of microbes was found. One that we had never seen before- and, more importantly, none of the testing protocols were optimized to “capture” the presence of said microbes. Whoa!

We initiated a rush, complete research product to determine whether this (client’s) product was carrying populations of this microbe. And, after a few weeks, we discerned that the products were susceptible. And, that after some 6 months of shelf storage, the presence of the microbes could reach 1 colony forming unit (CFU) per liter. (We don’t really detect a single microbe when we test; we detect the ability of the microbes to grow; that terminology sets the unit we observe as a colony forming unit, not a microbe.) And, data indicated that 10 CFU/L could be harmful. So, a recall of all product that was over 6 months old was initiated (and the FDA was informed); and immediately, all product indications were set for a 6 month shelf life to ensure patient safety.

Now, of course, let’s consider milk. Some time ago (back when my youngest was a toddler- he’s now 26), the Commonwealth of Virginia decided to change the expiration date of milk. Before this change, we’d go to the store and see that the expiration date of milk was less than a week away. Overnight, that expiration date became 20 days hence.

Did anything change in the milk? Or it’s processing? Not a whit. Nope, the farmers simply lobbied (and proved their case) that milk could be absolutely safe and tasty for at least 10 days longer than was previously thought. (Part of that change was enabled by the fact that grocery stores were using better equipment to keep the milk cold, but that’s a separate issue.)

(Except…  Using not totally scientific experimentation (only every time I bought milk for my kids), I discerned that the Virginia expiration date coincided perfectly well with the advent of souring milk.  Yup.  The next day, that milk’s only purpose was to coat the inside of my sink drain as I poured it out.  Not so for the colby cheese, yoghurt, or cottage cheese purchases.  Just the milk.)

But, here comes the big change. Very soon, all those wonderful little marks that we see on various food packaging- “expires on”, “better if used by”, “good until”, “use by”, “best if used by”- will simply disappear. Ok- not the last two. They are going to stay.

The “use by” designation will, henceforth, uniformly mean that perishable foods should be used by that date. The “Best if used by” designation is not an absolute number- but the time by which the manufacturer feels that peak flavor will be lost.

You see, those dates really are at the whim of the manufacturers. It’s perfectly safe to consume food beyond the dates indicated on the package. Because their intent was to notify the grocer that the product will look best on their shelves- or a guestimate of when customers may no longer find the product tasty. (Not, as my daughter perpetually complained, the date at which the food must be tossed in the trash. She’s not alone- the data indicates that about 91% of Americans do exactly that. Lookie here- I’ve been part of the 9%. [Not quite the 1%, though. ☺])

Moreover, many states demand that milk be labeled with a “sell by” date. Again- that won’t mean the milk turns sour the next day; it’s just the date at which retailers must pull the product from their shelves.

Oh, yeah. Something else. These new rules on the markings do not have to be adopted until next year….Oh.  They’re also “elective” and not mandatory.