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And, the cost of this waste is significant. In American Wasteland, a book that examines the massive quantities of food wasted from farm to fork, an industry expert estimates grocery stores discard $2,300 worth of “out-of-date” food each day. The waste continues at home since many consumers also misinterpret this date and discard products with weeks of good shelf life remaining. All this adds up to a huge amount of wasted resources, with serious impacts to resources such as land, air, and water.

For more on food storage time charts and related information, visit www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/food_product_dating/index.asp#9.