Food Expiration Dates Cost You Money

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - From milk to meats, salad to cereal, if it's in the grocery store it's got a date on it. Some products are marked 'use by' others 'sell by' and some just have a date. But what do those markings mean?

Peter Lehner with the National Resources Defense Council(NRDC) says the dates 'are not' expiration dates. You don't need to throw it out if it's past the date on the label.

The NRDC estimates 9 out of ten Americans are confused by the dates. A family of four throws about $2,000 worth of still edible food away every year.

Lehner says, "The dates are up to the manufacturers, there's no federal standards for anything in the store except for infant formula. Many foods, if stored properly, can last long after the labels state."

Milk can last at least a week past the printed date. Eggs are good 3 to five weeks after you buy them, and many canned products last for up to five years.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association says the dates indicate freshness, but admits changes are needed. They are working to improve current code dating practices, with the goal of creating a uniform global standard that will make it easier to interpret date labels.

Until then consumers should use common sense. For most things you can do the smell test and also give it a good look to see if its still good.

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