What you see: Tight bundles of white fuzz around the seed cavities in your apple core; you may be worried your apple is moldy.What it is: If the apple otherwise
Blog
Listeria and the special shelf life considerations of ready-to-eat foods
When it comes to date labels, shelf life and food safety, there’s a narrow range of foods that merit some caution because, after an extended stay in the fridge,
White liquid dripping out of lettuce?
What you see: A milky white substance leaks out of your freshly chopped lettuce. What it is: Lettuce latex!Eat or toss: Eat! This is a natural part of the
How to assess *pre-cut and chopped* fruits and vegetables, after the “use by” or “best by” or “sell by” dates
Quick summary: While the skin on whole fruits and vegetables protects them, sliced and chopped produce has more vulnerable exposed surface area and can easily
Fight food waste by supporting these nonprofit organizations
There are loads of organizations out there doing amazing work to fight food waste. Here are several of the largest ones that we believe are making a real dent
Best by? Use by? How companies come up with date labels
Where do "best by," "use by," "sell by" and other date labels come from? Date labels, expiration dates, “best by” dates. Whatever you call them, you know
Can you eat the dark line or “vein” on shrimp?
What you see: The black line or “vein” on the outer curve of your shrimp. What it is: The shrimp’s digestive tract! It's sometimes called a “sand vein.”Eat or
If a product says “use within X days of opening,” can you safely use it after the stated number of days?
Quick summary: How much you should respect those “use within” guidelines depends on the food's characteristics (especially how much water is potentially
How to evaluate shelf-stable foods after their “best by” dates
Quick summary: "Best by" dates on shelf-stable foods are typically set for quality, rather than safety reasons. Those dates are often conservative, which means
Potato squirts during chopping?!?
What you see: A potato that squirts while you’re chopping. What it is: A potato packing lots of water!Eat or toss: Eat! This potato is just fine. Is it OK
Can you cook with raw meat past “use by” or “sell by” dates?
The U.S Department of Agriculture recommends that raw meat be cooked within three to five days of purchase, and one to two days for ground meat. But, since
Big spots on snap peas
What you see: Large, rough, ringed “spots” on your snap peas. What it is: Fungal growth.Eat or toss: Mostly toss, but if some pods look normal, you could still
Inside the shelf life study process
What exactly happens when food companies set out to determine the shelf life of a new product? In some cases, they enlist the help of outside experts at private
Pitted surface of yogurt
What you see: Your yogurt’s surface looks pitted, with tiny depressions. What it is: Probably the remnants of some tiny bubbles generated during processing. Eat
What’s the string at the end of a carrot?
What you see: A white “string” at the bottom of your carrot.What it is: The very end of the carrot!Eat or toss: Eat! More carrot! Yes, you can eat the string
Moldy eggs
What you see: Your eggs have something unexpected, likely black, growing on the surface or possibly inside the shells. They look like the eggs in the images in