The Ultimate Guide to Food Safety – Keep This on Your Fridge!
Nobody likes wasting food, but sometimes you’re just not sure if it’s worth chancing the milk when that expiration date is today’s calendar date. One of the things we never learned in school growing up is how you’re actually supposed to treat food. What does the sell by date really mean? How long can you leave pasta in the pantry? We stumbled across the ultimate infographic on First We Feast to help you answer all these questions and more.
This informative infographic is so darn cute, we just might print it out for our fridge, but here are some need-to-know-now highlights: for ground meat and poultry, you have only a couple days to cook it up after you bring it home from the grocery store. Same goes for fish. Dry pasta, though, can last in the pantry for up to two years, so feel free to keep this staple on hand in pretty big quantities and go ahead and get creative with how you cook it up.
Did you know a “use by” date doesn’t mean the same thing as an “expires” date? The first is all about quality; you should use the product by that date if you want it to taste fresh, but you can probably push it a bit if you’re using it in a recipe. The expiration date is about safety so, yes, you should go ahead and throw out that expired milk.
We’re hoping that a chart like this can keep you safe in the kitchen while also encouraging you to think outside of the box to make sure you’re using your fresh food before it expires. We probably have a recipe (or five?!) for that item you need to use up, so here’s a little something to get you cookin’!
How do you manage expiration dates? Have a handy, must-see kitchen infographic to share? Tell us below in the comments.
