Are you up to date on food labels? (From Halesowen News)

Are you up to date on food labels?

7:00am Saturday 4th July 2009

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Confused by all that packaging saying 'Sell by', 'Use until' and 'Best before'? We look at the health effects of eating food past its official date.

By Kate Hodal.

Fridges piled high with mouldy cheese, wilted lettuce and psychedelic-looking slices of meat have always been the trademark of a typical student household.

But they could now be cropping up among everyday consumers who can't be bothered with all the "use by", "best before", "sell by" and "display until" dates stamped on their food packaging.

But knowing what's what could save your life, as eating food that's gone off can lead to health problems ranging from light stomach cramps to fatal E.coli poisoning.

Tens of thousands of Britons go down with food poisoning every year and more than 400 people will die from it.

And then there's all the food waste. The average UK household chucks out £420 worth of edible food every year - 4.1m tonnes in all.

Most of this is down to poor food storage and confusion over food labelling, says Julia Falcon of the Government campaign Love Food Hate Waste.

"The problem is that we don't just have one label, we have about four, and there are variations on those four," she says.

"In fact, about 50% of consumers are confused by the labels and don't understand the differences between them."

Only two of those labels - use by and best before - are required under EU legislation and these are for you, the consumer. The other two, sell by and display until, are simply reminders to help supermarket staff.

Still confused? Then follow our guide to knowing how to tell your dates apart.

:: Use by.

This is the only date you really need to look for, as use by means exactly that. And you don't have to eat it before that date: you actually have until the end of that day to consume (or freeze) the product.

"The use by date is a safety measure on food and drinks that are easily perishable, like dairy, soft cheeses, ready-prepared salads, fish and cooked meats," says Falcon.

While you might think risking a day beyond the date is fine, don't trust your nose or eyes on these foods as looks can be deceiving, says the Food Standards Agency's Brad Smythe.

"Most food bugs aren't visible to the eye and don't smell of anything either," he says. "So you could follow your nose with a piece of cooked ham, but it could have E.coli 1507 on it, which would kill you."

Use by dates are determined in relation to the growth of potential germs on the food, such as E.coli, salmonella or listeria.

Eating the food within the use by date means that the germs won't have had a chance to grow to a potentially dangerous rate. But eat it past the date, and your health may be at risk.

:: Best before.

These dates relate to food quality, not safety, and can usually be found on frozen, dried or canned foods such as breads, cakes and rice.

"These are foods that normally have a longer shelf life," says Falcon. "And while they're best before the date, you can eat them after quite safely."

Eggs are the only food whose best before label should be viewed as a use by date, as they can contain salmonella bacteria, which can start to multiply after this date.

But consumers are using best before dates as use by guidelines for all foods, not just eggs, the Government has found.

Research for the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) found that 53% of people would never eat past the best before date, resulting in more than 370,000 tonnes of food being thrown away each year, 40,000 tonnes of which was never opened but still perfectly edible.

:: Display until & sell by.

These dates are instructions for shop staff only, and should be ignored by consumers.

Falcon says the health effects of eating past the sell by date are "nil". "Sell-by and display-until dates are only to help store staff, so they shouldn't bother us as consumers."

Supermarkets will often offer discounted prices on food that has passed its display until/sell by dates, but that doesn't mean that it's unsafe to eat, says Falcon.

"Keep in mind that if you buy fresh fruit or veg from the grocer, it won't have any dates on it at all," she says.

"So you have to learn to trust your own senses in establishing what's OK and what's not OK to eat.

"If the food does have a label, the only one you really should look for is the use by one," she continues. "That's imperative to your health."

:: Food storage sense.

Most of us think that throwing anything in the fridge will make it last longer, but nearly two millions tonnes of food are wasted every year because we don't know how to properly store it, Government research has found.

While some things are better are in the fridge, others are best in the store cupboard. And learning what should go where will make your food last the longest, says eco chef Arthur Potts Dawson.

"When you put away your shopping, make a list of the dates by which perishable food has to be eaten," he advises.

"If things change during your week and you can't stick to your plan as a result, cook the food and freeze it, rather than throwing it in the bin."

Love Food Hate Waste (www.lovefoodhatewaste.com) has some great tips on understanding labels and advice on how to use your store cupboards, fridge and freezer at their most efficient, but here are some quick tips to help you get started: :: Fruit.

While 74% of us keep apples in a fruitbowl, they last around two weeks longer in the fridge, research has found.

That said, bananas should always be kept out of the fridge, as they tend to go black in colder temperatures than in normal room temperature.

:: Bread.

"A vast quantity of bread is thrown out when we could just freeze it and use what we need when we need it," says Falcon.

For those of you looking to reduce mould on your bread, however, don't place your loaf in the fridge.

"The fridge actually causes the starch to break down faster and make the bread deteriorate, so always store your bread either in the larder or in the freezer," advises Falcon.

:: Meats, fish and cheeses.

"We often buy meat and fish and once it goes past the use by date, we chuck it," says Falcon. "But as long as you put it in the freezer by the end of the use by date, it can last for months."

Cheese is also good to store in the freezer, whether it's a block or a few gratings. If you've got the end of some cheese that you'd like to use, grate it, put in a bag, and use it as a pizza or pasta topping later.

:: Dealing with waste.

A better understanding of food labels not only keeps the UK healthy, it also cuts down on the environmental impacts of food waste.

Around 20% of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions are created from the production, distribution and storage of food, according to Government body WRAP.

Most food that is thrown out ends up in landfill, where it produces methane, a greenhouse gas 15 times more powerful than CO2.

Why not reduce your own food waste by starting a wormery or compost bin? Find out how easy it is by visiting www.wrap.org.uk

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