What food expiration dates really mean

[crossbow]

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/care2/54/food-expiration-dates-what-do-they-really-mean.html

Are you one of those people who pour the milk down the drain on the expiration date?

Expiration dates on food products can protect consumer health, but those dates are really more about quality than safety, and if not properly understood, they can also encourage consumers to discard food that is perfectly safe to eat.

A recent poll of more than 2,000 adults showed that most of us discard food we believe is unsafe to eat, which is a good thing, of course, but it is important that we understand what food expiration dates mean before we dump our food -- and our money -- down the drain or into the garbage. On average, in the U.S. we waste about 14% of the food we buy each year. The average American family of four throws out around $600 worth of groceries every year.

[Edgemont]

I agree crossbow. I know a lot of people who throw out perfectly good food just because it's "Expired"
over the last month or so, I have eaten several cans of Western Family Black Beans that "Expired" in December of 2006. OHMG!!! Am I going to Die?! Uhh... They tasted better than new cans in my opinion, and I'm still alive. Hmm... I guess they weren't "Expired" after all.

[Klayton]

Prfectly stated.
Dates are for quality control.
Milk once pasteurized will curdle and you will automatically spit it out before it will form enough bad bugs to make you sick.
Now psychologically you might make yourself sick if you notice you drank some spoiled milk and took a big swallow before the taste triggered a "spit it out" reflex.

As a food inspector, we routinely approved shelf life extensions on everything from MREs to Oscar Mayer Bologna while stationed overseas.
Also, something alot of you may not know, we freeze our luncheon meats when shipping them overseas to our troops to extend their shelflife. The luncheon meat is thawed in a "temper" room, and then inspected randomly by those great Veterinary Service Food Inspectors. =)