[씨줄날줄] It’s the due date/Lee Sun-nyeo Editorial Writer | Seoul Newspaper

Can we ease the worry of hesitating whether or not to eat expired bread, snacks, or juice? The expiration date marked on the food has been changed to the expiration date, which is the period in which there are no health or safety problems even if eaten since the last day. The expiration date, used since 1985, literally indicates the period during which food is allowed to be distributed and sold. However, many people have misinterpreted it as a deadline for hygiene safety, and because of this, too many foods that shouldn’t have been thrown away have been thrown away. According to the Ministry of Food and Pharmaceutical Safety, the amount of food waste in Korea is 5.48 million tons per year, and the processing cost reaches 1.96 trillion won per year.

It has been 1 year and 6 months since the amendment of the “Law on Food Labeling and Advertising, etc. was passed. Most of the countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), such as the United States, Japan and Australia, also use a use by date labeling system for the same reason.The International Commission on Food Standards (CODEX) has recommended expiration date instead of expiration date in labeling regulations of foods of 2018. In addition to the best before date and expiration date, there is also a shelf life, i.e. the period of time during which the quality of the food does not change at all if the storage regulations are followed. , canned food, honey, etc. are subject to quality shelf life labeling.

How much longer on average is the consumption period compared to the expiration date? Last month, the Ministry of Food and Pharmaceutical Safety examined 23 types of food and 80 items and announced the “Report on fixing the expiration date by type of food”, and it is very different. For example, ready-to-cook foods have the same expiration date and 5-day use-by date. On the other hand, in the case of snacks, the shelf life is 45 days, but the consumption period is 81 days, a whopping 80 percent increase. Tofu has a shelf life of 17 days and a consumption period of 23 days, while bread has a shelf life of 20 days and a consumption period of 31 days.

However, until this year, the best before and best dates are mixed. Considering the confusion between industry and consumers, a one-year guidance period has been instituted. In addition, milk for which quality control is important, such as refrigerated storage standards, will exceptionally be introduced with a best-before date labeling system from 1 January 2031. For now, this means that consumers should distinguish between the expiration date and the use-by date and strive to consume food safely accordingly. If the expiration date is marked, extra care is needed as eating food that is past its date can be dangerous.

Lee Soon-nyeo Editorial Writer