Border Banter with Benoit-Leipert: Waste

not, want not

line on when it was packaged.

2017

The government of Canada is toying with the idea of removing best before dates from foods.

They’re claiming the date printed on the label refers to the date of ‘peak freshness’ of the item, not the date of expiry. That’s news to me.

With six siblings, I was raised in a household where food rarely went to waste. My dad was raised in a household where NO food ever went to waste, with 16 siblings.

That ‘waste not, want not’ mentality was definitely part of my life growing up and it makes even more sense now, with the grossly over-inflated price of groceries.

I still do my best to use any food I buy for my family, but sometimes I’m so ashamed when I clean out the fridge or freezer.

I’m not sure if removing the best before dates is the answer to the food waste problem we have in this country, though. I think there still has to be a guide -

Maybe people should be educated on exactly what the best before dates actually mean though. My daughter, for example, will look at the date on the milk carton before opening it.

If it’s says July 10, and today is July 11, she either won’t drink it or will open a new carton (bless her soul).

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