Do You Trust "Sell By" Dates?

Image: Marybeth Feutz/agricultured.org

My supermarket adventures include some uneducated guesswork about how fresh the food is. My wife, who uses dairy products in her coffee, asks me to find the cream, half-and-half, or milk with the latest available "sell by" date. We take the plunge and assume the stated date is reasonably close to a sort of "truth in packaging" claim.

After reading today's Washington Post story on "sell by" dates, I may reconsider that belief. The piece, largely based on findings in a Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic report, asserts that the United States' "sell by" information is so wildly inconsistent that one cannot rely upon it. At the heart of the issue is the lack of a uniform, national "sell by" code. Instead, each state has created its own rendition of "sell by." The messy result leads to confusion and waste.

Rather than trust sell dates, I trust my senses. My nose, my eyes, and my tongue remain superb guides to the merits of items prone to spoilage. They don't yet have end dates.