In Greece, at least in the past, it didn't say “best before” or “sell by,” but rather “expiration date,” which led most people to reasonably assume that it would be harmful to eat that food after the date.
That's just not true though. In most cases, I don't think the manufacturers are intentionally misleading; they just don't want to risk it, so they write the earliest date when the product could potentially go bad. A prime example is milk. It's easy to tell using your nose whether milk is safe to consume. I've consumed milk up to five days after the expiration date many times, and it pains me when I hear of friends throwing away perfectly good milk cartons on the day they supposedly “expire.” :')
What really bothers me though is the fact that honey still has “best before” dates! Honey never spoils though! My parents told me when I was young, so I always knew, and I assumed that everybody did as well. But through the course of my life, I've met multiple people that thought honey expires, and they (used to) throw it away after the date…
Interesting, used to be similar in Italy but then more "nuance" was introduced with "Best before", "Use by". And we also have "Expiration date" added into the mix 😅
Wow, this report annoys me so much because they make it sound like it's the fault of consumers for “misunderstanding” the date labels. When in fact it's the companies that miscommunicate! If most people understand wrong, then there's no problem with their understanding, but with the way the information is conveyed. As the report says, there isn't even a standard about what these labels mean!
“We had expected that icons would improve label comprehension.” You know what would improve comprehension? If they actually wrote what they mean. Apparently, the most common misunderstanding is thinking that a safety label is a quality label. Well, how about “Not safe to consume after …” instead of “Use by …”? It's more wordy for sure, but there can't be a misunderstanding then!
Similarly, If they don't want people to confuse quality labels for safety labels, and throw away food unnecessarily, they can write “Best taste/texture before … but safe to consume after” instead of “best by …”.
The truth is, it benefits companies if people throw away perfectly good food because then they have to buy more of it!
Thanks! Ehehe in places like Dubai/Bangkok it's easy as you have plenty of meal service company. You buy a monthly package (with the macro you need) and they deliver in the morning for the entire day. In Dubai it's even more sophisticated as they generally bring food in an ice bag that keeps things fresh. Because these cities have a good amount of people that "come and go" continuously there are plenty of serivces
In HCMC it was a bit harder especially in D7. I went to an Italian restaurant, talked with the owner and we agreed on a plan. Most restaurants would love to have that form of recurring revenue because it helps them cover their base costs. This year I found a proper meal plan company here too, catered to bodybuilders so the food is as good as you would cook at home (I'd argue even better as at home to get the same taste you may add more salt etc.)
When I get back to Rome instead I end up cooking, I wasn't able to find good service and at the same time I do enjoy cooking in Italy as I am at "home" instead of being abroad in a temporary place, without "my" kitchen etc.
In Greece, at least in the past, it didn't say “best before” or “sell by,” but rather “expiration date,” which led most people to reasonably assume that it would be harmful to eat that food after the date.
That's just not true though. In most cases, I don't think the manufacturers are intentionally misleading; they just don't want to risk it, so they write the earliest date when the product could potentially go bad. A prime example is milk. It's easy to tell using your nose whether milk is safe to consume. I've consumed milk up to five days after the expiration date many times, and it pains me when I hear of friends throwing away perfectly good milk cartons on the day they supposedly “expire.” :')
What really bothers me though is the fact that honey still has “best before” dates! Honey never spoils though! My parents told me when I was young, so I always knew, and I assumed that everybody did as well. But through the course of my life, I've met multiple people that thought honey expires, and they (used to) throw it away after the date…
Interesting, used to be similar in Italy but then more "nuance" was introduced with "Best before", "Use by". And we also have "Expiration date" added into the mix 😅
I agree with you. Unfortunately what I have been noticing is that more and more people are lacking basic skills that we used to give for granted. The amount of food wasted that was perfectly fine to consume is just insane: each year is 1.3M tonnes of food due to this labeling confusion (this is just US...) https://refed.org/uploads/consumer-perceptions-of-food-date-labels-2025-national-survey-policy-brief.pdf
Wow, this report annoys me so much because they make it sound like it's the fault of consumers for “misunderstanding” the date labels. When in fact it's the companies that miscommunicate! If most people understand wrong, then there's no problem with their understanding, but with the way the information is conveyed. As the report says, there isn't even a standard about what these labels mean!
“We had expected that icons would improve label comprehension.” You know what would improve comprehension? If they actually wrote what they mean. Apparently, the most common misunderstanding is thinking that a safety label is a quality label. Well, how about “Not safe to consume after …” instead of “Use by …”? It's more wordy for sure, but there can't be a misunderstanding then!
Similarly, If they don't want people to confuse quality labels for safety labels, and throw away food unnecessarily, they can write “Best taste/texture before … but safe to consume after” instead of “best by …”.
The truth is, it benefits companies if people throw away perfectly good food because then they have to buy more of it!
I liked this post, thanks. You have made me curious though… how have you gotten a restaurant to deliver all your meals? 😆 that sounds ideal
Thanks! Ehehe in places like Dubai/Bangkok it's easy as you have plenty of meal service company. You buy a monthly package (with the macro you need) and they deliver in the morning for the entire day. In Dubai it's even more sophisticated as they generally bring food in an ice bag that keeps things fresh. Because these cities have a good amount of people that "come and go" continuously there are plenty of serivces
In HCMC it was a bit harder especially in D7. I went to an Italian restaurant, talked with the owner and we agreed on a plan. Most restaurants would love to have that form of recurring revenue because it helps them cover their base costs. This year I found a proper meal plan company here too, catered to bodybuilders so the food is as good as you would cook at home (I'd argue even better as at home to get the same taste you may add more salt etc.)
When I get back to Rome instead I end up cooking, I wasn't able to find good service and at the same time I do enjoy cooking in Italy as I am at "home" instead of being abroad in a temporary place, without "my" kitchen etc.
Hope this helps!
Man, what a hack! I don't think this would have ever occurred to me. 😆