In the state of Montana, milk has to be tossed 12 days after pasteurization even though it can easily last up to 21 days. Storeowners can’t donate the extra gallons to food banks either. In the new film “EXPIRED? Food Waste in America” a team of researchers from Harvard investigate Montana’s spilled milk as part of a larger story on food waste and unreliable expiration dates.
“According to one study, more than 90 percent of consumers report throwing away past-date food because of food safety fears,” Emily Broad Leib, the film’s executive director and director of the Harvard School Food Law and Policy Clinic, wrote in the LA Times. “But the truth is that these dates are not intended to communicate safety information. Instead, they signal a manufacturer’s estimate of how long food will taste its best. Sometimes the dates are set based on consumer taste tests, but often they’re just a guess.” Each year, 40 percent of food produced in the U.S. goes to waste. You can watch the full documentary at the film’s website.