My husband loves space exploration and has been following advancements for years. A couple of years ago, he started talking about it getting close to the time when he will start hearing about space exploration projects that will not come to fruition until after he passes from this world to the next. He is 63, and his father is 91 (and just got married this month). Many of his family members live to their mid-90s, so he still has a few years to go, but space projects also have long lives before the fruits of their labour are realized.
Back here on Earth, I have been gathering food. I have tracked expiry dates for years, but typically, most of the food I buy has a one to two-year shelf life. What I would like is some longer-lasting fruits and veggies, so I have been looking at buying some dehydrated food. A friend of mine called me so we could coordinate our purchases, and during our conversation she off-handedly commented that the food we were buying has a 30-year shelf life.
That evening our purchases were on our shelves.
I checked the dates.
My friend was right.
These items will not expire until 2055.
2055.
That is the year I will celebrate my 90th birthday.
And that was when it dawned on me that some of my food may have a later expiry date than I might.
The thought of these expiry dates is disturbing enough to me that I have determined that I am going to eat the food I just bought and never buy food with that long an expiry date again…
…ever!
with love and laughs, Velvet
Living with more joy and more laughs everyday…especially when it is at my own expense!
If this reflection brought a quiet moment of joy, let’s keep walking this path together — pausing, noticing, and finding wonder in the everyday.
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The subject of “Best Before Dates”has been a topic of conversation around our place for quite some time. Kids come home and go through our food and throw out all the outdated stuff. Personally I feel that putting these dates on items is a marketing ploy so that we replenish sooner. (There are some exceptions – use common sense.) Food that is properly cured by using salt, sugar, vinegar or cold smoke will almost last forever.
We, on the other hand, will not last forever, but we stretch it out as long as we can. Check your food for decay, if none, stretch it out also.
I hate throwing out stuff that is still good. Store your food the way it should be stored. Live your life like it should be lived. Be happy. Happiness is the best preservation of LIFE. Don’t throw itout because you’ve passed the “Best Before Date”.
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I love your thought, “Be happy. Happiness is the best preservation of life,” definitely one to live by and co-incidentally the focus of my blog – Living with More Joy!
Re: Expiry Dates on food:
Expiry dates are a common topic of discussion in my Facebook Group, “LDS Food Storage Adventures.” Expiry dates for many shelf stable items can indeed be safely ignored. Government websites explain why. From experience I have learned to stick to the expiry dates for items with fat or dairy in them (e.g. nuts, oils and salad dressings) and ignore them for any dried noodles or legumes (e.g. peas and beans) and canned vegetables, fruits, salsas and sauces, especially acidic ones.
Thanks for reading my blog dad, I really appreciate it! Love you!
In Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/general-food-safety-tips/how-read-food-date-labels-packaging.html
In the USA: https://foodbankheartland.org/wp-content/uploads/USDA-Food-Safety-Fact-Sheet.pdf
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