Here are two things we spend a lot of time thinking about: 

1.) it feels bad to personally waste food, 

2.) and almost 40% of all food in the United States winds up being thrown out. 

Seems like they go hand-in-hand, right? Sort of! We as individuals are responsible for a given chunk of that ~40% figure (a large portion is wasted during production and shipping), so by wasting less, we feel less wasteful and also chip away at the percentage of produce that doesn’t get consumed.

However – and this is a big however – the answer to preventing food waste is not to hold your nose, close your eyes, and chow down on moldy bread, that fully sprouted potato, or that basically liquid banana!

It’s by doing what you can to consume the food you have, before it’s unsafe to do so. That’s an approachable goal, but in practice, it involves making some judgment calls on when exactly it becomes “unsafe to do so.” 

Best-by, sell-by, use-by, freeze-by, oh my!

A lot of the food you’ll pick up at the supermarket will come printed with a date somewhere on the packaging that seems to indicate when it will spoil. Seems simple enough, right?

It’s more complicated than that!

Turning things over to our buds at the USDA, let’s dive into some of the more common designations found on packaging that would could conceivable think spell out when you need to eat the product by:

• Best if Used By/Before: This is the date when a flavor’s product or quality will begin to deteriorate, but doesn’t necessarily concern its safety. 

• Sell-By: This date is mostly for the store’s benefit – it’s not a measure of safety, it’s telling the retailer how long to display the product before removing it from inventory.

• Use-By: Similar to the “best if used by/before” date, this is a reflection of the product’s peak quality range; it can be safe to consume after this date (except if the product in question is infant formula).

• Freeze-By: This one’s a bit more obvious – this is the date by which you should freeze a product to lock it in at its highest quality.

• Expiration Date: This refers to the date by which a product is likely to become unsafe for consumption, and is the only one of these that should be taken as gospel.

Keep your cool

But of course, these dates only hold true if you’re adhering to best practices for general food safety, or are following the storing instructions spelled out on the product’s packaging.

Regarding those “best practices,” we feel obligated to share this Thawing 101 USDA website with you, this dauntingly comprehensive guide to all things food safety – we’re talking shopping, storage, thawing (again), preparation, cooking, serving, leftovers, and refreezing – and a gentle suggestion to take advantage of the modern marvel that is refrigeration as often as possible, unless a product’s packaging specifies not to.

There are other ways to extend the useful life of foods – particularly produce – you bring home. Here are some of our favorites:

• First off, don’t assume that a lightly bruised or irregularly shaped bit of fruit won’t taste right. Our obsession with picturesque produce is a major driver of food waste!

• Locally sourced produce has a shorter trip to the store, and as a result, will likely last longer in your pantry, bowl, or fridge, having spent less time in transit.

• Look into the best way to store individual types of produce. Keep bananas separate as they give off a chemical that hastens ripening in other fruit. Some vegetables like green onions and celery will stay fresher (and sometimes even continue growing!) if you place their stems in water.

• Trust your senses: if something is visibly moldy or smells off, it’s probably not a great idea to eat it.

• Stock up on long-lasting versions of produce you enjoy – frozen fruit stays fresh for a long time, and frozen veggies can make cooking a breeze (they’re usually pre-cut)! Then there’s the shameless plug for kencko – our freeze-drying processes greatly expand the shelf life of produce!

•  Keep items covered in the refrigerator and sealed when outside of it – this can help prevent mold spores from making a home out of your leftover food.

When to discard vs. when things are only slightly gross, and thus less clear

In theory, the kencko company nutrition chat is meant to be a place for business-like discussions surrounding our products, led by members of our research and development, quality assurance, and nutrition teams. 

But in practice, it’s also a place for the rest of us kencko-ers – particularly those of us without years of rigorous training in nutrition science – to pose questions to our expert colleagues… questions like: “Can semi-moldy fruit be safe if I cut what looks good and cook it? 😄 Or should it still be tossed away?”

The answer (“I would not advise out of caution ❤️”) was swiftly delivered by Mallory, our head of nutrition research, before any moldy fruit was consumed. But many follow up questions were issued in response, all along the lines of “is it ever safe to eat moldy fruit?”

Here’s Mallory again:

“When soft foods such as fruits and vegetables have mold on them, there is no way to tell just by looking how deep the mold spores go into the food, or if it is accompanied by dangerous bacteria. In these cases it is most safe to discard the produce that has the visible mold plus any produce directly touching that piece!”

So aside from a carton of berries with only a few moldy ones in the mix (toss those, and the berries they’re touching, then rinse the rest thoroughly), it’s best to steer clear of mold when it comes to produce. That’s because mold gives off spores, which might not be visible.

But what about unsightly “blemishes” that aren’t mold, like a potato that’s sprouted “eyes?” 

“With harder foods, like potatoes, you actually can cut about 1 inch in all directions from the sprouted (or even slightly moldy) section and have the rest still be usable after washing and cooking. But please note potatoes should always be cooked and never consumed raw. Sprouted onions and garlic are also safe to consume as long as sprouts are discarded.”

Waste not, want not

Now, armed with some glass storage containers, a crisper drawer in your refrigerator, and a whole host of mold-related wisdom, go forth and extend the shelf-life of some food, and throw away a couple fewer items this week than last!