In Kimberley Kausen’s home, a passed “sell by” date on a jug of milk means different things to different family members. For her daughter, it means the jug belongs in the trash. For her husband, it means the milk is still good for a few more days.
I think this brings it in line with most of the developed world. Although in Australia we don’t have ‘best if used by’ just ‘best before’ / ‘expiry date’ mandated by law for most products. I think some dried and canned foods that have a shelf life greater than 3 years are exempt and usually have a processing date / date packaged instead.
foods that have a shelf life greater than 3 years are exempt
We may have a similar rule I didn’t know about, I just checked our cans and glasses of pickled things, and they all have expiration dates. But pure sugar does not, it doesn’t even have a production date?!?! So I looked it up, and it’s literally stated by the manufacturer to have near infinite shelf life, making them exempt so they don’t have to label the dates.
MFW pickled things have expiry dates. Missing the point of pickling there buddy. But there is a point where things go a bit funny looking, which is why they often have a “best before”. The food is still okay to eat, just not at it’s “best”.
MFW pickled things have expiry dates. Missing the point of pickling there buddy.
Quality of pickled foods can drop off over time. Plenty of fermented red sauces (colored red because of peppers or tomatoes) will turn brown over time from oxidation, which also dulls the flavors. Also, lots of pickled products are jarred still crisp but will degrade into mushy/soft textures over time.
Korean cooks have systems for how fresh kimchi should be for different dishes, as the fermentation continues even after putting it into jars. Newer kimchi is good as a dish on the table, older kimchi is good as an ingredient in stews or other things like that.
Hell, even wine keeps changing in the bottle, and can start tasting bad from being aged too long.
So there’s still benefit in labeling dates, so that consumers can understand how time affects quality.
Thank you for explaining exactly how and why mostly “best before” dates are appropriate for mass-produced pickled goods. “Best Before” is a quality mark, not a food safety mark. A dodgy looking old pickle is unlikely to kill you but it might not look the best or taste as be good as it should.
Homemade stuff, like kimchi rotation, is learnt through experience, so a “production date” might be more appropriate for writing on the jar.
For things like bottled water or canned or pickled food the “best before” date is more like a “at this point the package starts to degrade”.
For example pickled cucumber that are sold in jars start to degrade faster as soon as the jar lid starts to rust or the rubber coating looses its silkiness.
Or canned food: at some time, the metal starts to react with acidic ingredients and
dissolve into the food and spoils it.
I bet most pickled products can last years beyond what’s labeled.
But IDK, we never get anywhere close to that. Because the real issue is after it’s been opened, which is generally also written on the label if you care to read it.
It’s also nice that we don’t have to eat funny looking food, because eating funny looking food can very quickly become not so funny.
I think this brings it in line with most of the developed world. Although in Australia we don’t have ‘best if used by’ just ‘best before’ / ‘expiry date’ mandated by law for most products. I think some dried and canned foods that have a shelf life greater than 3 years are exempt and usually have a processing date / date packaged instead.
We may have a similar rule I didn’t know about, I just checked our cans and glasses of pickled things, and they all have expiration dates. But pure sugar does not, it doesn’t even have a production date?!?! So I looked it up, and it’s literally stated by the manufacturer to have near infinite shelf life, making them exempt so they don’t have to label the dates.
MFW pickled things have expiry dates. Missing the point of pickling there buddy. But there is a point where things go a bit funny looking, which is why they often have a “best before”. The food is still okay to eat, just not at it’s “best”.
Quality of pickled foods can drop off over time. Plenty of fermented red sauces (colored red because of peppers or tomatoes) will turn brown over time from oxidation, which also dulls the flavors. Also, lots of pickled products are jarred still crisp but will degrade into mushy/soft textures over time.
Korean cooks have systems for how fresh kimchi should be for different dishes, as the fermentation continues even after putting it into jars. Newer kimchi is good as a dish on the table, older kimchi is good as an ingredient in stews or other things like that.
Hell, even wine keeps changing in the bottle, and can start tasting bad from being aged too long.
So there’s still benefit in labeling dates, so that consumers can understand how time affects quality.
Thank you for explaining exactly how and why mostly “best before” dates are appropriate for mass-produced pickled goods. “Best Before” is a quality mark, not a food safety mark. A dodgy looking old pickle is unlikely to kill you but it might not look the best or taste as be good as it should.
Homemade stuff, like kimchi rotation, is learnt through experience, so a “production date” might be more appropriate for writing on the jar.
For things like bottled water or canned or pickled food the “best before” date is more like a “at this point the package starts to degrade”.
For example pickled cucumber that are sold in jars start to degrade faster as soon as the jar lid starts to rust or the rubber coating looses its silkiness.
Or canned food: at some time, the metal starts to react with acidic ingredients and dissolve into the food and spoils it.
I bet most pickled products can last years beyond what’s labeled.
But IDK, we never get anywhere close to that. Because the real issue is after it’s been opened, which is generally also written on the label if you care to read it.
It’s also nice that we don’t have to eat funny looking food, because eating funny looking food can very quickly become not so funny.