Food Expiry Dates Trick You To Throw Perfectly Edible Food

Did you know none of those dates on food products - sell by, use by, best before - indicate the safety of food, and are not federally regulated? Did you know that it is usually safe to eat your expired food? Did you know food manufacturers trick you with expiry dates to scare you into squandering perfectly edible food so they could earn more money? Did you know confusion over dates, according to a survey by the Food Marketing Institute, leads 9 out of 10 Americans to needlessly throw away food worth $165 billion annually?

Using the website StillTasty, which collects data from the USDA, the FDA, the CDC, and the food manufacturers, Business Insider created a graphic that shows just how long certain foods can stay in your fridge and pantry before they are inedible.

The National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) says that expiry dates are merely "suggestions by the manufacturer for when the food is at its peak quality, not when it is unsafe to eat". The organization therefore wants to see a labeling system that better explains to consumers how long their food will last beyond the sell by date.

As a consumer, you too can start making changes by educating yourself on how best to handle and store food, including with this handy graphic that helps demystify your refrigerator.