CHARLOTTE — Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke has recently noticed a lot of expired food in stores. Several viewers have contacted him reporting the same issue.
Kevin Anguzza Jr. says he “grabbed two Twix bars. One for my wife, one for my daughter.” He says when they got home, they noticed the bars “had expired over a year ago.”
Alisha Ross says she bought expired food by mistake too. “It was a new juice. Excited to try it,” she said. “Brought it home, unloaded everything. Went to get some juice a couple days later and just happened to look at the date then.”
She says it had expired a few weeks earlier. She was upset enough to post about it on social media.
“So many moms started commenting. So many, one after another after another … I was like ‘OK this is more than just juice here,’” she said. “When you’ve got kids, you have some people that [have] autoimmune [issues].”
Stoogenke also noticed expired food in stores, including dumplings several weeks out of date. He bought them to see if they looked or smelled different. When he opened them, he discovered they were covered in mold.
His colleagues at Channel 9 found old food on their shopping trips too, like hummus a few days old and popcorn that was months passed the date.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says no matter what wording is on the package — best by, freeze by, sell by, or use by — it doesn’t refer to food safety. It’s about peak quality.
Jesse Garcia is with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service and says it’s “because they want to make sure that you enjoy the product so they’re giving you the timeframe when it’s at peak quality.”
The government doesn’t regulate what dates manufacturers put on food. One exception is some baby foods, including formula. Federal law does require them to have a “use by” date so customers know when not to give them to their child.
“I’ve been checking dates like crazy now,” Ross said.
She wishes every store would do the same. “I definitely expect better. In-date. Rotated better. Definitely.”
Ross didn’t ask for a refund for the expired juice she purchased, but Anguzza asked for one for the expired candy bars he bought.
The bottom line is the dates may not be about safety, but you still need to check them all the time. It sounds tedious, but it’s not worth getting sick over. Health officials say the more important thing to rely on is your senses. If the food looks or smells odd, don’t risk it, no matter what the date says.
According to the USDA Food and Safety Inspection Service, these are some of the commonly used phrases used on labels to describe quality dates:
Best if used by/before: This date indicates when a product will be of the best flavor or quality — not safety.
Use by: This indicates the last date the product would be considered at peak quality. It does not indicate safety except in the case of infant formula.
Sell by: This date tells the retailer how long to keep the product on the shelves. States will oftentimes regulate “sell by” dates. For example, Maryland generally prohibits the sale of grade “A” milk or milk products past the ‘sell by’ date. Other states may allow such items to be sold at discounted rates.
Freeze by: This date is a recommendation of when a food item should be frozen “to maintain peak quality,” says the FSIS.
If you haven’t guessed by now, none of the common food date labels is a recommendation about how safe the product is, according to the FSIS.
If you suspect any real wrongdoing, you can always report it. Various federal and state agencies oversee food safety. We’ve included links to the different agencies below:
North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
South Carolina Department of Agriculture
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