Food waste: People misread 'use by' label; 40% of U.S. food is tossed

[Curmudgeoness]

53. I have beat my head against the wall at work.

My coworkers all believe that the "sell by" date is written in stone as the "must throw out" date. I am shocked at the amount of food that they waste, at the office and at their homes.

I only throw out things that are obviously rotten.....slimy veggies, rotten fruit, sour smelling milk. And I try not to let anything get to that point. It is usually something that came from the store bad already, like a few grapes in a package or something. If I have too many veggies at once, I will blanch and freeze some of them.

I hate milk, but use it in my coffee and cooking. I can never use a half-gallon before it goes bad (which tends to be a week after the sell by date), so I start to make chocolate milk with syrup to drink some (THAT milk I will drink). Eggs last for months and months. Meat is frozen immediately when I get it home unless I am cooking it that day. And don't buy more than you will be able to use or freeze, no matter what the price.

I don't even consider the "use by" dates on anything....although I do when I am buying things. I get the freshest foods.