Food Talk

I recently started following a podcast called Food Talk.  I thought it would be about food trends and topics that foodies would be interested in.  It may be, as I've only listed to two or three podcasts so far, but that's not really what it's about.  It's more about the production of food, how can we feed the world and reduce or eliminate food insecurity, how food is produced, the technology involved in farms, and federal standards for labeling.  The latter is a big issue.

I listened to a long podcast this morning which had guests from two fantastic organizations.  Food Tank is a global community for safe, healthy ,and nourished eaters.  Through education and advocacy, Food Tank hopes to create change.  Another group, begun in the EU, is Refresh.  This organization hopes to resource efficient food and drink for the entire food supply chain, and the prevent or reduce food waste.

Another topic that has been hot in congress over the past decade is labeling of products, including fish, meat and poultry and canned products of all types.  Due to the lobbying of huge companies like Monsanto, federal changes have been slow to come.

At the moment, there is still confusion over the meaning of "Sell by" and "Use by" on labels.  I will clarify.  "Sell by" tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management.  It has nothing to do with whether or not the product is safe for consumption.  "Use by" is the date by which the product is recommended to be consumed at peak quality.  If consumed after this date, it is still safe to consume, but might not be at peak quality.  For many products, like boxed cereals, canned fruits and veggies, etc., it is entirely safe to consume these products after the "use by" date.  The exception to this is infant formula, which should be used by this date.  

There is so much to say about this topic, but I will leave other topics related to food for another blog.  For now, remember what the  "sell by" and "use by" dates really mean.  Don't just throw out food that has passed the "use by" date.  Use the smell test.  That's what I do.