Laguna Food Pantry: Perfectly good food often ends up discarded when it could be redirected into groceries for food-insecure families

Food expiration dates often cause confusion and lead to unnecessary waste. According to a recent New York Times article, “Do Food Expiration Dates Really Matter?,” national food waste experts estimate that billions of pounds of food are thrown out each year simply because people aren’t sure if ‘best by’ or ‘sell by’ means safe to eat.

Except for infant formula, expiration dates in the U.S. aren’t standardized. Terms like sell by or best if used by are set by manufacturers, so two similar products can have different dates.

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Courtesy of LFP

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