Food is wasted because of the most common reason, it is passed the use-by date. Around the world, we are celebrating (or maybe not) National Stop Food Waste Awareness Day. However, in the USA alone, an estimated 125 to 160 billion pounds of food are wasted every year. Imagine how much of that food could fill up the stomach of every hungry human being.
There are many small ways to prevent food waste and you can start it right now. By eliminating the most common reason, we would be able to cut down enormously the amount of food being wasted every year. And that is making use-by date work for you.
Use-by dates are for the food safety of every consumer. This is something we cannot change as this would risk our health. After that deadline, bacteria start to grow and lessen the benefits of food. But we can still achieve our goal by taking small actions like food preservation.
So how would those deadlines be able to work for you? Here is how.
- Before grabbing that food on the grocery shelves, check the expiration or use-by dates.
- Identify food that requires careful storing management. For example, cooked meats must be stored in a fridge at 5°C or less.
- Keep track of those use-by dates.
- Extend food shelf life by freezing right up to its use-by date. Freezing can extend life as it prevents bacteria from growing.
These steps are just words if you are not going to make an action. Start small for a bigger step toward our goal. Let me hear what action you have done so far.