Expiry date of foods, the EU towards the change on the label – Corriere.it

On 8 March, the EU Commission presented to the experts of the Member States a proposal to revise the rules on the expiry date of foods, with the inclusion on the label of the words “often good after” in addition to the usual “best before” . Expired foods often end up in the trash because the majority of people believe that once the expiration date on the label has passed, they could be harmful. Yet, there are many foods that can be consumed even several days, weeks or even months after the expiration date.

An aid to the fight against waste

And precisely to avoid unnecessary waste, Brussels is working on the draft of the delegated act in which the modification, with the new wording, is contained. According to the EU Executive, in fact, the addition is an aid in the fight against food waste because it allows “a better understanding of the expiry date”, influencing “the decision-making process of consumers regarding the opportunity to consume or eliminate a food” . The request to extend the expiration date is nothing new. For example, in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic emergency, the Granarolo group had also asked to extend the expiry date of fresh milk.

Foods that can be eaten after the expiration date…

Before throwing away food that is still good, it is always advisable to make a distinction between foods that can be eaten after their expiry date and those that, on the other hand, must irrevocably be thrown away because they are dangerous to our health. Obviously, it is always good to keep in mind that the storage method can also affect the edibility or otherwise of a food after its expiry date. In principle, long-life foods and dry foods without water keep better, so they can be eaten safely even after their expiration date (such as rice and pasta). Eggs, on the other hand, can also be consumed within 3 days of the expiry date and yoghurts up to two weeks (the only problem is from a nutritional point of view: after expiry the acidity increases and the number of live cultures decreases) . For dried and canned legumes, the times are longer, always after a visual and olfactory check. The same goes for white flour, as opposed to wholemeal flour which can go rancid due to its high fiber content. They will lose some crunchiness, but the cookies and crackers can be eaten long after they expire.

… And the ones you can’t eat

Expired cured meats and sausages can be harmful if eaten after their expiry date, especially if they have a bad smell, since they can expose us to the risk of contracting listeria (generally, however, ham stored in bags in a protected atmosphere is edible even beyond the expiration date). Fresh meat deserves the right attention and, if consumed after the expiry date, it risks causing unpleasant effects such as salmonella or E. coli. Fresh dairy products behave differently from yogurt: after expiration they can cause food poisoning, while expired fruit juices can contain bacteria and cause intestinal disorders. Finally, berries, such as strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, if consumed after their expiration date could develop a parasite called cyclospora and green leafy vegetables can be vectors of bacteria such as E. coli.