It's a common household misconception that as soon as food reaches or goes past its best-before date, it needs to be thrown away. It's this misconception that could nationally save us Kiwi shoppers a staggering $872 million every year (the average household throws out $563 worth of food annually).
We've put together 5 tips on how to decipher whether you should revive or throw away the food in your cupboards...
5 Ways To Save Food
Loading...
-
1/6
1/6 -
2/6
2/6 Know your labels: What's the difference between best-before dates and use-by dates? Don't ignore use-by dates, especially when it comes to meat, fish and dairy, as it marks out food that goes off quickly and could be harmful if you eat it after it's gone off. Best-before dates are an indication of when food will be at its best, but food can be eaten safely past this date. -
3/6
3/6 Fill your freezer: Fresh food can be frozen right up to the use-by date. Cheese, milk, eggs, and bread can be frozen to prevent waste. Freezing meat on the day of purchase and taking it out when you need it is a good habit to get into. Just make sure you wrap it in freezer bags to prevent freezer burn.
-
4/6
4/6 Keep fruit and veg fresh: Fruit and veges generally last longer than their best-before dates. Onions can last for months in a cool, dark place. Once cut, wrap and put in the fridge, where they will last 2-3 days. Never keep bananas in the fridge as they can turn black faster, but beware of storing them in a fruit bowl with other fruit, as they give off ethylene, which speeds up the ripening process for other fruit.
-
5/6
5/6 Find savvy storage solutions: Most fresh food should be kept in the fridge. Keep bread and other similar baked goods like croissants and brioche in a bread bin or similar container. These products tend to keep beyond their best-before date, but if bread has become stale, check for any mould and if it's OK, toast it for an instant revive or finely grate it into breadcrumbs to use on chicken or fish.
-
6/6
6/6 Use your senses: Trust your instincts and senses to smell, feel and look at the food as this is actually one of the most reliable ways to decipher if it has gone off. Food can go rotten before its best-before date, especially if it hasn't been stored properly. Don't go blindly by the label and learn to trust yourself.
