Food which is otherwise thrown out, is being salvaged and sold at heavily discounted prices to people who need it. “Foodies” of Cape Town, South Africa are selling damaged food or food which is past its “sell by” or “best before” date at significantly reduced prices. 
The “sell by” date was first introduced by Marks & Spencer’s in their warehouses in 1953. The intention was for the retailer to know by when to sell their products.
Over the following two decades the “sell by” date was tweaked to “sell until”, “display until” etc. It’s all very confusing for the consumer! And as a result tonnes of food is wasted every year.
In 2009, the Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs was quoted as saying that, the UK alone, throws away 370,000 tonnes of food each year.
Date labelling is mandatory under European law.
What happens if you consume food past the date on the packaging?
As long as you use your common sense and follow your nose, nothing will happen. Have you ever eaten a pot of yogurt “expired” by a few days? Try it. I promise, you will live to tell the tale!
If you have fruit and vegetables in the bottom drawer of your fridge and they’ve been sitting there for the past five to six weeks, you do not need a date on the packet to tell you they’re not good to eat. They’re probably soft and mouldy and I suspect a foul smell hits you every time you open the fridge door.
“Sell by”, “sell until”, “best before”, “display until” are all meant for stock and quality control. It is only “use by” which is meant to be taken literally, for food safety reasons.
A restaurant in Denmark is making use of fruit and vegetables which the supermarkets throw out. The restaurant is sponsored by a charity and the proceeds from food sold go towards funding development projects in Sierra Leone.
Personally, I believe that one of the reasons retailers insist “best before” dates are not removed, is because they play on the consumers’ minds. No matter how much is said or written, a great number of people will still choose to “play safe” and throw out their “expired” products, resulting in increased sales.
What are your thoughts? Do you think products past their “sell by” date are fit for human consumption? Leave a comment.
My thanks go to:
The Telegraph online (food and drink)
In the catering industry, chefs use scales with weights. However, these take up a lot of space and are not practical in the domestic kitchen. Choose a precision-made model; I prefer digital scales because they are very accurate. Some models come with a setting to choose whether you want to work with imperial or with metric weights. Go for what works best for you. If you prefer working in metric, you do not need to find a model which converts from one system to another.
Cup and spoon measures come in plastic or metal. They are used for measuring small quantities of dry or liquid ingredients. Do not be tempted to use normal spoons; sizes vary greatly and they are not good to measure ingredients because they will imbalance your recipe.
There are a variety of measuring jugs on the market. Do not go for the cheapest one around because it may not be suitable to measure hot liquids. Go for a jug which is heatproof and clear as this type proves to be the most durable and practical.
This method of defrosting is best suited for small pieces of chicken, such as breasts or thighs. It takes one hour to defrost 0.453 kgs of chicken using this method.
Remove the packaging and place the chicken in a microwavable container. Check your microwave instruction manual and set the time accordingly. Do not over-microwave your chicken. Microwaving your chicken for too long, will heat up the meat and promote the growth of bacteria. If you leave the chicken in the microwave for too long you can partially cook the bird.
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