Your Guide to Fresh Food

1. Your Guide to Fresh Food

2. Why Do We Care about Fresh Food? • Understanding the “shelf life” of food will help you accomplish three things: • Save money • Eat well • Eat safely

3. Key Terms • Shelf Life – the length of time for which an item remains useable, fit for consumption, or saleable. • Expiration Date – the date after which a product (ex: food) should not be sold because of an expected decline in quality or effectiveness. • Ripe – developed to the point of readiness for harvesting and eating.

4. Shelf Life: Long or Short? • The shelf life of a product varies greatly depending on the item and how it has been stored. • Ex: Meat/Poultry • Homemade Beef Stew = 3-4 days • Commercially Canned Beef Strew = 2-5 years • Ex: Herbs/Spices • Dried Basil OPENED/UNOPENED = 1-3 years • Fresh Basil 7-10 days • Ex: Dairy/Eggs • Cheddar Cheese UNOPENED = 6 months • Cheddar Cheese OPENED = 3-4 weeks

5. Fruits are Fickle… • Keeping fruit fresh is a tricky thing! • The freshness of fruit is entirely dependent on its ripening process. The following are the two ways fruits ripen: • They continue to ripen or soften after they have been picked. • They won’t ripen any further after being picked.

6. Storing Fruits • You store fruits according to how they ripen. • For fruits that ripen after they have been picked premature refrigeration will cause them to lose flavor and develop a mealy texture. Store these fruits at room temp until they ripen then refrigerate! Ex: apricots, avocados, bananas, melons, kiwi, mangos, peaches, pears, plums and pineapple.

7. Storing Fruits • You store fruits according to how they ripen. • For fruits that won’t ripen after they have been picked, leaving them at room temp will only speed up their decay. Store them in the refrigerator immediately after purchase. Ex: most berries, figs, grapes, rhubarb

8. Storing Fruits • You store fruits according to how they ripen. • Some fruits don’t ripen after they are picked but will last longer in the refrigerator. They do not need to be stored in a cool environment. Ex: apples, clementines, grapefruit, lemons, limes, oranges, watermelon.

9. Storing Meat/Poultry • Fresh meat has an extremely short shelf life. The guidelines should be strictly observed to avoid contracting a food borne illness! • Uncooked Refrigerated Chicken = 1 to 2 days • Cooked Refrigerated Chicken = 3 to 4 days • Uncooked Refrigerated Ground Beef = 1 to 2 days • Cooked Refrigerated Ground Beef = 3 to 4 days

10. Cradle to the Grave Any guesses on some of the longest lasting foods? Honey = indefinitely Rice = indefinitely Sugar = indefinitely Maple Syrup = indefinitely Salt = indefinitely

11. Expiration Dates: Yay or Nay? • Expiration dates can be very confusing. There are four key terms to know: • Use By/Best if Used By/Best By/Best Before • Sell By • Expires On • Packing Codes

12. Use By/Best if Used By/Best By/Best Before • This term is generally found in shelf stable products. Ex: mustard, mayo, peanut butter, etc. • The date is provided by the manufacturer to tell you for how long the product will remain at its highest level of quality when unopened. • “Use by” has nothing to do with safety! If it doubt, do a smell test and taste a small quantity.

13. Sell By • The term is generally found on perishables like meat, seafood, poultry and dairy products. • The date is a guide for stores to know how long they can sell a product for. • If you have stored a product safely at home you can typically use it beyond the listed date.

14. Expires On • This term is only found on products that are government regulated with respect to dating, such as infant formula! • Always use the product before this date!

15. Packing Codes • These codes are found on a variety food types. Usually they look like a meaningless jumble of letters and numbers. • These are used to help stock shelves and locate products in the event of a recall!

16. Help?