Canadians含羞草研究社� misunderstanding of best before dates could be contributing to excess food waste and, in turn, food insecurity, experts say as a government committee urges Ottawa to examine the issue.
A report on grocery affordability from a House of Commons committee on agriculture and agri-food includes arguments that Canada do away with best before dates due to the widespread misconception that they indicate whether a product is safe to consume.
Experts say all they indicate is when a product is past its peak freshness.
含羞草研究社淭here含羞草研究社檚 a lot of confusion around what food labels mean,含羞草研究社� Kate Parizeau, a professor at the University of Guelph who studies food waste, said Tuesday.
含羞草研究社淎 lot of people think that best before dates are expiry dates, when there are actually very few products in Canada that have a proper expiry date.含羞草研究社�
Generally, the only foods with an expiry date are those that have a specific nutritional requirement that could degrade over time, such as baby formula. Best before dates, on the other hand, are required on foods that are expected to go bad within 90 days.
Food manufacturers and processors tend to slap them on all sorts of products, though, Parizeau noted, and they are of limited utility.
含羞草研究社淚 think many people have this idea that before dates are determined by scientists in a lab measuring how many days until a product goes bad,含羞草研究社� she said.
含羞草研究社淭hat含羞草研究社檚 not how it works. It含羞草研究社檚 something that the government tells manufacturers that they themselves have to figure out in-house, so it含羞草研究社檚 a bit of a black box.含羞草研究社�
Parizeau encouraged consumers to learn more about food safety so they can determine for themselves whether groceries are spoiled.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e so disconnected from our food sources. We don含羞草研究社檛 know when the product was picked. We don含羞草研究社檛 know how long it含羞草研究社檚 supposed to stay good,含羞草研究社� she said.
含羞草研究社淪o if somebody puts peppers into cellophane and puts a sticker on them, we含羞草研究社檙e like, 含羞草研究社極K, this is meaningful. I can trust whatever is put on the sticker.含羞草研究社� In part, because we don含羞草研究社檛 understand how that decision came about either.含羞草研究社�
Lori Nikkel, the CEO of Second Harvest Canada, is quoted in the government report saying that best before dates encourage people to throw out 含羞草研究社減erfectly good food含羞草研究社� when many go hungry because of rising costs.
含羞草研究社淓liminating best-before dates would prevent safe, consumable food from being thrown out and save Canadians money on their grocery bills,含羞草研究社� she said in the report released last month, which recommends the government investigate 含羞草研究社渉ow the elimination of 含羞草研究社榖est-before含羞草研究社� dates on foods would impact Canadians.含羞草研究社�
Michael von Massow, an expert in food labeling who also teaches at the University of Guelph, said he含羞草研究社檚 in favour of doing away with the labels.
含羞草研究社淏ecause they are so misinterpreted, I think there含羞草研究社檚 some real value in getting rid of them,含羞草研究社� he said.
Von Massow said the extent to which food waste drives up cost is not clear, though it stands to reason that it plays some role by reducing the supply and increasing demand for groceries.
含羞草研究社淚f we were throwing out less stuff, we would save money in our households, even if prices didn含羞草研究社檛 change,含羞草研究社� von Massow said.
含羞草研究社淪o I think there含羞草研究社檚 an argument that prices could change if we threw less of some products out. But even if it didn含羞草研究社檛 change, if we threw less stuff out, our grocery budget would go down.含羞草研究社�
The suggestion that the government study the potential effects of removing best before dates is one of 13 in the report.
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