This Major “Sell-By” Date Change Is Going To Save You SO Much Money

For some reason, it didn't occur to me until recently that someone had to type everything into the nutritional information on a grocery store label. Think: The basic facts of our food, something that we take essentially as the gospel truth, are typed into some form by some human. Similarly, the sell-by-date seems inscrutable somehow. You can drink milk like a day or two afterwards and it's fine, probably. Like, you should smell it first but you get the idea. That's not even counting "Best by," "Use by," "Better if used by," "Consume by," and whole grocery list of other options. That second point of confusion will soon be a non-issue. The Grocery Manufacturers Administration just announced a big change to how food sell by date will be labeled. Now, you'll have just two labels to read. '“BEST If Used By” describes product quality, where the product may not taste or perform as expected but is safe to use or consume," the GMA writes in a release. “'USE By" applies to the few products that are highly perishable and/or have a food safety concern over time; these products should be consumed by the date listed on the package – and disposed of after that date." So, a simple sensible change that will help the consumer. That's the type of things that unions and other collectives have been doing for years. Somehow, the GMA has worked to help the American people without attaching a proviso that it's now legal to dump toxic sludge directly into water pipes. Imagine that.