By Russ Parsons, Los Angeles Times (TNS)
How often has this happened to you? You’re digging through the refrigerator looking for something to eat when suddenly you notice the “sell-by” date on the package. It’s several days past, so you toss the food out.
Americans throw away an estimated $165 billion in food every year, a good portion of it prompted by situations just like this. But in fact, most of those dates are largely meaningless.
In the first place, there’s a confusion of labels — “sell-by,” “best-by” and “use-by” are often read interchangeably by consumers, but they all mean different things.
The “sell-by” date is when the maker advises the store to pull the product from its shelves. The “best-by” date is when the maker believes the product will reach the end of its peak quality. It doesn’t mean the food isn’t safe after that.
The “use-by” date is the last date the manufacturer says the product should be used. However, this also is based on flavor and quality and it doesn’t mean the product is unsafe after that.
And, in fact, though they might look official, almost all of those dates are merely suggestions by the manufacturer. There are no federal guidelines that dictate what those terms mean or what the suggested storage times are for different foods.
Some states have rules covering some products — California regulates dairy and shellfish dates — but beyond that, you’re on your own.
According to the Department of Agriculture, package dates are used “to help the store determine how long to display the product for sale. It can also help the purchaser to know the time limit to purchase or use the product at its best quality. It is not a safety date.”
Confused? You’re in good company. A 2013 report by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic found that 90 percent of Americans were too.
Many foods can be safely — and even pleasurably — consumed well past their designated dates, provided adequate care is taken during storage.
A website called EatByDate is a good source for more detailed advice. Milk, for example, will last in the refrigerator five to seven days beyond its typical expiration date.
Eggs are usually good for an additional three to four weeks. Dried pasta will last for a couple of years beyond its usual date and canned tuna will be good for as many as five years.
Any food, of course, should be discarded if it smells or tastes off, if it is discolored or there are signs of mold or spoilage.
If you want to get really organized, there is, of course, an app for that. It’s called EatBy and so far it’s only available on Android.
EatBy allows you to catalog all the foods in your refrigerator and pantry, specifying by what date they should be used. You can use either the manufacturer’s suggested dates, or you can enter dates of your own. It’ll alert you when the item is nearing its designated time.
An iOS app is in the works — but so far there’s still no sign of a “sniff” feature that will let you know when that carton of milk has, definitively, gone off.
(c)2015 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Photo: Dave Goehring via Flickr
RFK Jr. Campaign Director Reveals Her True Allegiance Is To Trump
Angela Stanton King
Angela Stanton King, a far-right commentator working as a director for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign, said on a conspiratorial podcast last month that she loves Trump and that Kennedy is “another option” because her “fear is that they're going to stop at nothing to keep Trump from winning.”
She also said that she's working to take away votes from President Joe Biden and “if Trump or Kennedy gets it, I don't lose either way.”
Stanton King’s remarks resemble those of then-Kennedy official Rita Palma, who argued that the independent candidate’s presence on the New York ballot would help Trump defeat Biden, which she said was her “No. 1 priority.” (Palma was later fired.)
Kennedy has frequently attempted to appeal to right-wing audiences. He has also promoted numerous conspiracy theories as a commentator and has populated his campaign with conspiracy theorists.
Stanton King fits the Kennedy campaign's attempts to cater to right-wing media audiences. She is a far-right speaker, author, and guest on right-wing programming. She has claimed that the election was stolen from Trump, promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory, and made bigoted remarks about LGBTQ people.
She works as the Black voter engagement director for Kennedy and has participated in events and door knocking with him. He also recorded a song with her. This past weekend, Stanton King appeared at a campaign event with Kennedy’s running mate Nicole Shanahan.
Stanton King has been a strong supporter of Trump, who pardoned her in 2020 for a 2004 car theft sentence. In 2021, for instance, she said: “Trump can’t be President forever and I know that. But he’s the only one bold enough to fight these evil Demonic Satanic forces from the pits of HELL and I’m standing with him.”
Stanton King is still praising the former president, including while doing surrogate work for Kennedy on the April 20, 2024, edition of Nino’s Corner. That show is hosted by David “Niño” Rodriguez, a far-right podcaster who has said that Biden “stole the election”; 9/11 “was an inside job”; and COVID-19 “was a hoax and vaccines would kill u.” He has frequently promoted QAnon, including offering programming that analyzes “Q drops” and “Q posts.”
During the start of his interview with Stanton King, Rodriguez said: “I will say, I'm one foot in, one foot out with RFK. I'm a Trump supporter. Everybody knows that.” Stanton King replied: “Me too.” She later said that she’s “in a pickle here because I love” Trump and Kennedy and said:
ANGELA STANTON KING: RFK is liked by a lot of people. Like, we love Trump, but we know that RFK is not afraid to stand up to the establishment either. And I think that's what many of us respect about RFK. And for me personally, I made this decision because I was tired of being on one side where all we're doing is constantly fighting, and I was tired of not being able to work with certain people in my community because I was being labeled as a Trump supporter. And I just honestly believe that in order for us to come together that we do have to stop fighting.
She later stated that part of her efforts is to take away votes from Biden:
DAVID RODRIGUEZ: Throughout history, right, it's shown that third-party candidates kind of siphon votes from one or the other. And it looks like in this instance with RFK, he's going to probably take a lot of the votes away from Biden. Correct? I mean, that's what you're looking [inaudible]--?
STANTON KING: Well, yeah, that's true because he, and not to cut you off, but for my community — and you know how it is, you know how the media has created this stereotype that Trump and the Republicans are all racists — so for people in my community that aren't necessarily comfortable with coming over to the Republican Party, this provides a space for them. And to me, I'm like, listen, we've got to get away from the Democrats. So you guys have two options, right? If you don't want to vote for Trump, then Kennedy is a much better option than Joe Biden. And for me, shifting my community is very important. And I think that the independent space provides a safety net for those that are just not comfortable with the Republican Party but want to step away from the Democrats.
Stanton King continued offering Trump-friendly rhetoric during the interview (“I love Trump”), including stating that she loves Trump and views RFK Jr. as “another option” because she fears that “they're going to stop at nothing to keep Trump from winning”:
STANTON KING: My fear is that they're going to stop at nothing to keep Trump from winning. And I don't want to just give it over to Joe Biden. If for some reason we see another 2020, we need to have another option. And I think that RFK may be that. So that's kind of like where I'm at. I love Trump, my Republican friends that have supported me so much, I love them too. But even sometimes when it comes to the Republican Party, we've seen where the Republican Party didn't even stand behind Trump. Like, they let them get indicted four times. We saw what Mike Pence did with the vote. You know what I'm saying? So, I think it's time for us all to put people over party.
She later said that while campaigning with Trump she saw him draw vastly bigger crowds than Biden, asking, “How in the world was Joe Biden able to win or steal or whatever an election from Trump?”
She also suggested that she'd be happy if either Trump or Kennedy wins the election, stating: “If Trump or Kennedy gets it, I don't lose either way.”
STANTON KING: I love them both very dearly. A Trump-Kennedy ticket would mean the world to me because they're both guys that have shown me that not only do they care for me, but they care for my community. So for me, it's the winning ticket. Like I don't lose either way, right? If Trump or Kennedy gets it, I don't lose either way. But for both of them to get in, to me that would be a dream come true. And I don't know what those guys are doing. Trump hasn't picked a VP yet, and I'm thinking like Trump still may want to — if Trump got in and Kennedy didn’t, Trump still may want to pull Kennedy and make him, you know, the director of health administration. There are just so many options here. But I don't think that the Kennedy campaign and the Trump campaign are enemies.
Stanton King later portrayed the 2024 election as “us against the Democrats, either way it goes. It's the Republicans and independents against the Democrat Party. And we've gotta all unite.”
Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.