How Misleading Labels Fuel Food Waste

Have you ever paused before tossing a half-eaten yogurt with an ominous “best by” date glaring from its plastic lid? A carton of eggs that, technically, expired yesterday? Perhaps a slightly squishy avocado that's lost its youthful firmness? You're not alone. Millions of perfectly edible items end up prematurely discarded based on the cryptic codes printed on their packaging – “sell by”, “use by”, “best by”. The numbers are warning of impending food doom. But what do they really mean?

The dates we've been trained to treat as ticking time bombs are far from the definitive indicators of spoilage they seem. In reality, the “best by” and “sell by” dates are primarily about optimal freshness and quality, not food safety. The “sell by” date, in fact, serves more of a logistical purpose; it's merely a note to stores about when to pull products off the shelves. Often, your food items are still delicious—and safe—for days, even weeks past those printed dates.