And they have little to do with safety. They have everything to do with profit, and consumers can profit from them too. Every manufacturer knows his ideal (most profitable) rate of production: the number of units produced per hour that results in the best economy of scale. BUT--he has to keep the line moving. To do that, he invents Sell-By Dates to encourage retailers to clear their shelves of "old" stock to make way for the next shipment. Within any industry there is no consistency of sell-by dates. No science determines them--only economics. Past-date stuff has not turned poisonous overnight, but retailers dump old stock anyway because consumers trust the dates. Even retailers who know better don't dare sell old stock, Just imagine: a consumer gets a bellyache (for whatever reason) and calls a lawyer. Citing the sell-by date. the lawyer will talk any jury into awarding an astronomical settlement. On the other hand, when I trained at Fort Devens in the 1960s, all 3500 of us regularly ate C-Rations while on field exercises, and the rations were older than we were.
Sell-By Dates ARE usually valid when it comes to perishables, particularly dairy products. Milk and cream will sour. Butter and soft cheese may turn rancid. But rely on your nose. The famous Murray's cheese in NYC sells excellent French brie for $24-$29 a pound. That's out of my league. Amazon sells President brie--a respected supermarket brand known all over France--at about $11 a pound. Every now and then one of my local outlet stores has President brie that's within a month of "expiration" for $1.99 a pound--and in two weeks the 1-pound wheels will be cut to
99 cents. I'll grab 4 and put 3 in the freezer.
Sell-By Dates ARE usually valid when it comes to perishables, particularly dairy products. Milk and cream will sour. Butter and soft cheese may turn rancid. But rely on your nose. The famous Murray's cheese in NYC sells excellent French brie for $24-$29 a pound. That's out of my league. Amazon sells President brie--a respected supermarket brand known all over France--at about $11 a pound. Every now and then one of my local outlet stores has President brie that's within a month of "expiration" for $1.99 a pound--and in two weeks the 1-pound wheels will be cut to
99 cents. I'll grab 4 and put 3 in the freezer.