Expired Food is Much Desired
image by xaraxone.com
Food wastage is a big topic. TreeHugger has covered some of the issues: the apples of less than perfect shape that supermarkets refuse to sell. The regulations by the European Union forbidding the sale of certain kinds of fruits and vegetables due to size. Over packaging. Here's another one: sell-by dates. Most canned and fresh food has a date stamped on it, after which is deemed to be past its prime and taken off the shelves. Supermarkets in the UK are fanatical on this: their view is that anything past the stamped on sell-by date is poison and will kill you instantly. But not everyone agrees.
In these times when everyone is looking to save a penny, a company that specialises in selling food past its sell-by date has found a whole new clientele. Approved Food, an on-line grocer has been selling Nutella and Marmite and biscuits and canned soup for half the price of that in the shops. And people are snapping it up.
image from Approved Food
Food past its sell-by date may not look great: the tins are bashed in or the cookie has crumbled, but they are safe to eat. According to the Food Standards Agency, "Best- before is an indication of quality rather than safety. Eating food past the best-before date does not necessarily put someone at risk from food poisoning," it said.
While you may not be lusting after finest pork scratchings--24 bags for $3.75--it's worth checking out the concept. Approved Food Via : The Financial TimesMore on Food PackagingPrecyclingOddly Shaped Vegetables Allowed in EuropeHealth Food from Damaged Vegetables
