Long-term sell-by dates on food may not be justified

Food & Drink Weekly, April 19, 2004

Long-term sell-by dates on food may not be justified: Long-term sell-by dates on some packaged foods are not justified, research has suggested. Olives with a claimed shelf life of up to three years can be "unacceptable" to eat long before, agricultural researchers in Greece found. They said the move towards plastic packaging has led to some "arbitrary" sell by dates. Food manufacturers said standards were high and firms were complying with guidelines and regulations.

The study, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, suggested only vacuum pouches could justify a claim to a shelf-life of almost two years, while olives packed in air were only good for nine months. Olives in Greece were tested over a six-month period for microorganisms, acidity, color and firmness.

No harmful bacteria were found in any of the olives but the overall quality was found to be "unacceptable" in the air-packed olives and those in a "modified atmosphere" of 40% carbon dioxide, 30% nitrogen and 30% oxygen. Those in brine were found to be of "medium acceptability".

The National Food Processors Association (NFPA) in the US said it was the manufacturer's responsibility to determine the shelf life of their product. Whether the researchers' findings agreed with the claims of the manufacturers "would depend on the storage conditions they used," said Allen Matthys, vice-president for federal and state regulations at the NFPA. Regulators would be keeping a check on the shelf-life claimed by the manufacturers and would intervene if they were not correct, Matthys added.