Скачать или смотреть The Expiration Date Lie (Why Food “Expires” When It Doesn’t)

The Expiration Date Lie (Why Food “Expires” When It Doesn’t)

Every day, millions of Americans stand over their kitchen trash cans performing a ritual of waste. They pull a carton of milk, a bag of spinach, or a tin of yogurt from the fridge, glance at a stamped date, and—if that date has passed by even twelve hours—toss the perfectly good food into the bin.

This behavior is the result of one of the most successful "legal lies" in the history of the modern food industry.

Contrary to popular belief, expiration dates are almost never about food safety. In the United States, there is zero federal regulation governing these dates, with the sole exception of infant formula. Instead, these stamps are part of a sophisticated marketing and inventory management system designed to protect brand reputation and accelerate the "buy-throw-buy" cycle.