Most restaurants throw away perfectly edible food.
Congress wants people to stop wasting perfectly good food. The “Domestic Harmony Act” is an undergoing project that wants to bring awareness to the fact that there is a big difference between “expires on” and “best used by.”
Chellie Pingree’s, a member of the Republican party, and Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut State Senator joined forces in order to bring more light to the expiration labels that are put on food products. According to them, when the “Domestic Harmony Act” will be implemented, Americans will have clearer views on how to use certain food products, when to throw them away, and when to repurpose them.
Pingree grew up on a farm, so when she was little, she knew that when a strawberry went stale, you could always put it in a pie. When the milk turned sour, you used it to make biscuits, and when there was a little mold on the cheese, you just scrapped the compromised part and put some macaroni on the stove.
On the other hand, Sen. Blumenthal is the kind of person who checks and double checks the expiration date on a food item before consuming or using it. He was one of the majority of Americans who believe that if a product is labeled “best used before” then the date inscribed on the package is the same as the time in which the food becomes inedible.
There is a tremendous difference between the expiration date on a food item and the “best before” one. The first is, or should be, a clear indicator of the day in which that food expires, turning from thing that is good for you to something that will probably make you sick.
On the other hand, the “best before” date is another thing entirely. This labeling method is used to offer the public a guideline. When the “best before” date passes, you can repurpose that food, cook it, in order to make it edible again.
Americans should stop wasting perfectly good food. They tend to throw away products that could be either eaten, cooked, or donated. Some are starving while others are wasting.
The two Republicans want to bring awareness to the importance of not throwing away food items that can be otherwise used, even if their label says that they’re expired.
Image source: Wikipedia
Deborah Campbell
