California: At the forefront again.

Well I'm cranky because Fortune paywalled the article sometime after first publishing it. Here's another, more sympathetic to the rules change:

California Becomes First State to Ban “Sell By” Dates on Packaged Foods

I'm sure you can find more on this, pro and con.

I'd like labeling for produce where possible too. How many times have you brought stuff home and had it go bad very quickly because it was old and on the edge when you bought it? Imagine things like canned tuna with no dates?
 
Oh for Pete's sake, @dilettante. You never miss an opportunity to shade the truth in your efforts to bash California, do you? Lord have mercy, but you're a tedious man with transparent motives.

If you took the time to read what the law does and doesn't say, you'll find it doesn't ban food dates, but instead clarifies the dreadfully confusing, arbitrary hodge-podge they've become and the tremendous food waste they inspire.

To wit: It prohibits the words, "Sell by" (except for infant formula, eggs, beer & malt beverages) in favor of the standardized language: "Best if used by" to indicate peak quality and "Use by" to designate food safety.

Stores and consumers throw out a tremendous amount of perfectly good food because they presume "sell by" dates are indicative of food safety rather than a reminder for retailers regarding stock rotation.

According to ReFED, an non-profit organization fighting food waste, some 1/3 of all US food goes to waste.
 
dilettante said:
Imagine things like canned tuna with no dates?
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When our generation was growing up canned tuna had no dates on it. We survived just fine. Our parents knew not to use dented, swollen or leaking cans. Also to always use the smell test and check the appearance of EVERYTHING they served.

Sell by dates on canned and other goods didn't show up until the 1970s.
 
Ok, then I don't know why reports suggested otherwise. So:
The law’s goal is to avoid consumer confusion and for such labels to signify “the date by which the product should normally be used to ensure consumer quality.” The new labels must adhere to the following guidelines:
  • Quality dates: “BEST if Used by” or “BEST if Used or Frozen by”
  • Safety dates: “USE by” or “USE by or Freeze by”
  • Prohibited: “Sell by”
The law includes other language about specific products, such as milk, and has further details on labeling requirements. It notes that the new standardized date labeling requirements do not apply to infant formula, eggs, or beer and other malt beverages.
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I'm not sure how these changes accomplish anything. It looks as confusing as before.

Why not simply a uniform "Spoiled after" date?
 
StarSong said:
When our generation was growing up canned tuna had no dates on it. We survived just fine. Our parents knew not to use dented, swollen or leaking cans. Also to always use the smell test and check the appearance of EVERYTHING they served.

Sell by dates on canned and other goods didn't show up until the 1970s.
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That sounds like my mom. Each time she opened a can, box or bottle of something, she had to smell or sometimes taste it.
 
Some things need a sell-by or use-by date. I am thinking mostly of perishables that only last a few weeks at best: bread, meats, etc. Highly processed foods can last for years. Compare the shelf life of Twinkies to that of your home made bread. It's not even a contest.

Should California mandate or ban these things? I'm not sure. A best-by date is just that. It is about as meaningless as a sale sign that says "Up to 40% Off!!!!" Up to and Best By are both vague confusing terms.

Note: My emergency food supply now consists of 144 Twinkie packages and 240 Ding Dongs.That should last me a very long time even without refrigeration. 😃

Note2: Some have done a study a while back to see how long expired OTC medicines were good for. Most were still very potent years after the expiration date.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health...ug-expiration-date-may-be-more-myth-than-fact

In his lab, Gerona ran tests on the decades-old drugs, including some now defunct brands such as the diet pills Obocell (once pitched to doctors with a portly figurine called "Mr. Obocell") and Bamadex. Overall, the bottles contained 14 different compounds, including antihistamines, pain relievers and stimulants. All the drugs tested were in their original sealed containers.


The findings surprised both researchers: A dozen of the 14 compounds were still as potent as they were when they were manufactured, some at almost 100 percent of their labeled concentrations.
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Brookswood said:
Some things need a sell-by or use-by date. I am thinking mostly of perishables that only last a few weeks at best: bread, meats, etc. Highly processed foods can last for years. Compare the shelf life of Twinkies to that of your home made bread. It's not even a contest.

Note: My emergency food supply now consists of 144 Twinkie packages and 240 Ding Dongs.That should last me a very long time. 😃

Note2: Some have done a study a while back to see how long expired OTC medicines were good for. Most were still very potent a year after the expiration date.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health...ug-expiration-date-may-be-more-myth-than-fact
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Foodstuffs will still have "use by" dates, just not "sell by" dates. To be honest, other than for stock rotation in my pantry, I pay very little attention to those dates (medications included) unless they're waay old. Like pre-2020 old. With pastas and other dry goods I only use the dates for rotation. Those products virtually never go bad.

Dates are arbitrarily assigned by manufacturers whose best interests (let's face it) are served by people tossing and repurchasing food. Businesses are in the business of selling more stuff, not less.

Meds may lose a little potency over time, but don't turn into poison.
 
chic said:
I don't understand CA and what I do grasp frightens me sick.
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It's really not that bad. All kinds in Ca., including people posting on this board. I think we are OK. California is more than San Francisco and Southern California.
oslooskar said:
Most of the mentally unstable people in California were not born there. Additionally, many native Californians, including members of my family, friends, and me, have left. In fact, if I ever go back to California, it will be just for a short visit and that's it.
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Well, I was born here. But anyway, I'd leave if I could. Where I'd go, I don't know.
 
Remy said:
It's really not that bad. All kinds in Ca., including people posting on this board. I think we are OK. California is more than San Francisco and Southern California.

Well, I was born here. But anyway, I'd leave if I could. Where I'd go, I don't know.
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I didn't move to CA until my late teens, but you'd have to drag me away from here kicking and screaming.

In no particular order, just off the top of my head, I love the racial and cultural diversity, the extraordinary variety of food - fresh and restaurant served, the generally liberal attitude that accepts others for who they are rather than being forced into a mold others decide they should fit, the weather (a given) the variety of topography, the beaches, and the casual lifestyle.

I enjoy other places while vacationing, but am always delighted to return home.
 
oslooskar said:
Most of the mentally unstable people in California were not born there. Additionally, many native Californians, including members of my family, friends, and me, have left. In fact, if I ever go back to California, it will be just for a short visit and that's it.
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Well now, I don't mean ta' call ya no liar, but I'm purdy unstable and I was born in this hear state, and so wuz my family. It may be true that we do git a bit crazy frum time ta time, but it's that damn moonshine what's ta blame. Why, I wuz jus talkin' to my couzin wife the other day after she got released from the can, and we think most folks got us all wrong.

After I finish ma grade 6 ejucashun, I plan on runnin fer mayer, and maybe even git me some of them there pills that make you think without gettin no headake. I don't like them shock treatments no more.
(Now whir did I leave ma darn banjo).
 
bobcat said:
I don't mean ta' call ya no liar, but I'm purdy unstable and I was born in this hear state, and so wuz my family. It may be true that we do git a bit crazy frum time ta time, but it's that damn moonshine what's ta blame. Why, I wuz jus talkin' to my couzin wife the other day after she got released from the can, and we think most folks got us all wrong.
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Thanks for sending me this video of you dancing. I hope you don't mind me sharing it with others.

 
I watch the dates when I purchase food and appreciate some form of Best By or Use By date.

Food has become too expensive to pay full price for items that are past their prime.

I’m willing to take my chances and use my own judgment on discounted items that have reached their expiration date.

I’m also the person that reaches to the back of the bread display or milk cooler to find the item with the longest date.

I would like to see a uniform dating system and work to improve it rather than abandon it.

Once I get the items home I use my own judgment on which items I choose to use past the date.
 
Remy said:
It's really not that bad. All kinds in Ca., including people posting on this board. I think we are OK. California is more than San Francisco and Southern California.

Well, I was born here. But anyway, I'd leave if I could. Where I'd go, I don't know.
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It's not the average people in CA @Remy. I have many relatives there. It's the fact that CA is always the first to take the green agenda in directions I am not sure we should go. And pass laws accordingly. :unsure:
 
oslooskar said:
Thanks for sending me this video of you dancing. I hope you don't mind me sharing it with others.

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Shur. I even hurd from them more civelized folks in uther states that you cud send things like this into Dancin' with the Stars, and I kinda fancy the noshun of kickin' up my heels on that TV thing i wuz told about. So yer dern tootin', go a hed.
 
chic said:
It's not the average people in CA @Remy. I have many relatives there. It's the fact that CA is always the first to take the green agenda in directions I am not sure we should go. And pass laws accordingly. :unsure:
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Most people in CA lean toward the green, liberal side and are ok with those laws.
 

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