How to "pick up the leakage" of the temporary food to be "really fragrant"

Eat "not discounted" delicacies at discounted prices, and temporary foods that can be bought online and offline have become the new favorite of young people who like "picking up missing children"

Can you buy and eat fast food with confidence?

3 yuan a pack of imported wafers, 10 yuan a bottle of Italian olive oil, 10 yuan 3 cans of German dark beer, sweets and other snacks 4 to 5 times lower than the original price.

For the same product, the date determines the price

In April of this year, Taobao and Popular Science China released the "Cold Knowledge Report on Temporary Consumption", showing that 2.

When buying food, picking fresh ones that are far from the shelf life is a routine operation for most consumers

Professor Fan Zhihong, an expert member of the Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology and the School of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering of China Agricultural University, said in an interview with a reporter from "China Consumer News" that the temporary food is still within the shelf life, and the taste, nutrition and safety indicators are also qualified.

Fan Zhihong further explained that the so-called impending foods usually refer to pre-packaged foods that are about to reach the expiration date

Does eating impending food mean "unhealthy" to some extent?

Fan Zhihong believes that whether the food is healthy or not can be determined by whether or not it is in a period of time

However, Fan Zhihong also confessed that some of the nutrients in certain foods may indeed be lost as time goes by

How to calculate the impending time limit

Although its safety is beyond doubt, the state stipulates that the seller should strictly manage the food with the expiration date

On January 27, 2012, the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce issued a document clearly requiring that food operators should make eye-catching reminders to consumers about food that is about to expire

The "Anti-Food Waste Law" promulgated and implemented on April 29 this year also clearly stipulates that food operators such as supermarkets and shopping malls should strengthen daily inspections of their foods, and carry out special labeling or centralized display of foods near the expiration date.

So, how close is it to the expiration date to be considered an impending period?

"Can you eat something less than 10 minutes past the expiration date? The first second is within the expiration date, do you have to throw it away the next second?" Although these questions on the Internet seem to be a bit tricky, for those who are used to it.

Fan Zhihong said that the expiration date is actually a relative concept, and the expiration time limit varies according to the entire duration of the shelf life

Taking Beijing as an example, the criteria for defining the "criticality of food shelf life" are divided into 6 levels:

Labeled shelf life of one year or longer, the critical period of 45 days prior to expiration, such as canned food, candy, cookies and so on

For products with a shelf life of 6 months to less than 1 year, the critical period is 20 days before the expiration date, such as instant noodles and aseptic packaged milk juice

For products with a shelf life of 90 days to less than half a year, the critical period is 15 days before the expiration date, such as some vacuum-packaged and refrigerated cooked foods and instant rice
.

If the shelf life is 30 days to less than 90 days, the critical period is 10 days before the expiration date, such as some sterilized packaged meat and fresh eggs
.

Labeled shelf life of 16 days to less than 30 days, the critical period of 5 days prior to expiration, such as yogurt, some snacks and so on
.

Labeled shelf life of less than 15 days, the critical period of 1-4 days prior to maturity, such as milk, milk drinks viable, the main food, cooked food is not sterile, non-sterile boxed soy products
.
A reporter from "China Consumer News" combed the above-mentioned local management regulations and found that for the calculation of the critical period of food, some local regulations define food that is within a specified number of days before the expiration date of the shelf life as temporary food; others are The food that is within a specified percentage of days before the expiry date of the shelf life is defined as temporary food, such as imported food that exceeds 2/3 of the shelf life
.

In addition, some local management regulations clearly state that food operators can negotiate with suppliers on their own for the temporary guarantee period, but it shall not be less than the period specified in the regulations; relevant national standards allow food without a guarantee period to be marked, and there is no temporary guarantee period.
; When the temporary food is bundled with other commodities, it must be marked as "food near the expiration date", and the production date and expiration date of the food must not be concealed
.

How can I buy reliable and impending food

In fact, impending food is not always available
.

From the perspective of production and sales in the food industry, the emergence of impending food is a deviation in the supply chain management of the manufacturer
.
Under ideal production and sales conditions, the turnaround time from leaving the factory to the completion of sales should be much shorter than the shelf life
.
In products with stable production and sales and sufficient scale, this is not difficult to achieve
.

Therefore, as the so-called "missing of impending food" is becoming more and more known, Fan Zhihong reminded that illegal businesses should be wary of selling counterfeit and shoddy products under the guise of impending food
.
Consumers should try their best to choose regular supermarkets or stores when buying impending food, and do not choose unlicensed stores or stalls
.

Fan Zhihong reminded consumers to pay attention to the following 3 "knowledge points" on how to buy reliable and impending foods
.

Check the food packaging
.
Food packaging should be inspected to ensure that there is no damage, no bulging, or air leakage
.
Pay attention to the key information such as the production date and shelf life on the food label to ensure that the product is within the shelf life
.
If a false production date, expiration date, or the sale of food that has exceeded the expiration date is found, such violations should be reported
.

Pay attention to storage conditions
.
Temporary food must be stored under the conditions required by the label
.
If you find that you need to refrigerate or freeze temporary food at room temperature, do not buy it
.
Fan Zhihong gives an example.
For example, if a food is stipulated at minus 18 degrees and the shelf life is 12 months, then if it is placed at minus 8 degrees, its shelf life will be shortened
.

Buy in moderation according to your needs
.
Consumers should consume scientifically and rationally, and do not buy large quantities of impending food because of discounts and low prices, so as to avoid waste due to expired and spoiled food
.
After purchase, it should be consumed as soon as possible within the shelf life
.
Do not eat the food when it is found that it has exceeded the shelf life, or has peculiar smell or taste abnormality
.

Related Links

How to determine the shelf life of food

Food shelf life, usually refers to the period of time for prepackaged food to maintain quality under the storage conditions specified on the label
.
During this period, the product is fully suitable for sale and maintains the unique quality that is not required or has been described in the label
.
From this perspective, the shelf life is a kind of promise and liability guarantee given by the producer
.

The national standard does not make a uniform provision for the shelf life of a certain type of food
.
Generally speaking, manufacturers will test microbiological, sensory, physical and chemical indicators based on industry conventions and product characteristics through experiments to determine which indicator will become unqualified the fastest.
This determines the shelf life
.

Foods with a short shelf life generally pass the "stability test", that is, the food is placed in a constant temperature and humidity incubator close to the real storage conditions, and indicators are tested at regular intervals to determine whether it has deteriorated
.

The shelf life of many foods is nominally as long as one year or more.
It is not a conclusion drawn after putting the food for a year, but through accelerated experiments (also called destructive experiments), using the relationship between food storage time and temperature , Do the heat preservation experiment of the food under higher temperature conditions, and calculate the true shelf life at normal temperature through the shelf life at this temperature
.

"Cold knowledge" about impending food

Taobao and Popular Science China released the "Expert Consumer Cold Knowledge Report", showing that when food is 20%-50% left in the shelf life, due to low discounts and unaffected taste, there will often be a new round of sales peaks.
Known as the "prompt effect" of food
.
Among them, the impending effect of puffed foods such as potato chips is more significant, followed by instant noodles and drinks
.

In terms of specific food categories, instant noodles, dried meat, nuts and other foods with low moisture content and long shelf life are easier to store and relatively safe
.

In terms of purchasing channels, large supermarkets, large-scale integrated e-commerce platforms and community fresh food chain stores rank among the top three channels for consumers to trust temporary food purchases
.
This shows that traditional supermarket channels and accessible physical stores are more trusted by consumers
.