"Use by...", "Sell by...", "Best If Used By..." These are all found on food packaging. If you really study them, they all can mean very different dates. The FDA is still looking for ways to simplify the food freshness labeling.

When one looks at how much food is needlessly thrown out because it's on or near the expiration date is staggering. According to Bloomberg, Americans toss out nearly 130 billion pounds of food annually.

Half of Americans feel guilty about wasting food so we have that going for us - and hopefully some clarification on labels to help reduce waste.

Until then, there are some foods and drinks that are good well past the expiration date:

Chips: The salt on the chips will keep them good well past the expiration date. Sailors used to salt meat for the long ocean voyages, and they seemed to be okay...right?

Chocolate: Over time, chocolate may develop little white spots but chocolate scientists (okay, I made that up) say that it's really just sugar that has crystallized and is totally fine.

Booze: The older it gets, the better it is - except beer. That's why we pay dearly when the bottle says those magic words "aged 18 years."

Honey: It's known as the only food that really can't spoil. Well, that and Twinkies. Kidding.

Eggs: According to the folks at the BroBible, eggs can last up to 3 weeks past the expiration date.I'll not put that to the test but I do like to wait until the expiration date to make hard-boiled eggs. it makes them much easier to peel.

Spaghetti: If you're a bachelor, these types of dry pasta have survived years after packaging dates.


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