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Each food product in the United States must show a "best before" date on its container.
在美國，每種食品的包裝上都必須標明“最佳食用日期”。
The goal of placing the date on food is to tell the buyer when the food will be at its freshest.
在食品包裝上標注最佳食用日期的目的是告訴購買者食物什么時候是最新鮮的。
Some people call the date the “expiration date.”
有些人把這一日期稱為“保質期”。
Many people believe it is unsafe to use the product after that date.
許多人認為，過了該日期再使用該產品是不安全的。
But some observers say "best before" labels have nothing to do with safety.
但一些觀察人士表示，“最佳食用日期”標簽與安全無關。
They worry that the information will lead consumers to throw away food that is good to eat.
他們擔心這些信息會導致消費者扔掉那些還能吃的食物。
People around the world are thinking about ways to prevent wasting food.
世界各地的人們都在想防止浪費食物的方法。
They think that “best before” labels are one cause of waste.
他們認為“最佳食用日期”標簽是造成浪費的原因之一。
Patty Apple is a manager at Food Shift in Alameda, California.
帕蒂·阿普爾是加利福尼亞州阿拉米達市Food Shift的經理。
It is a nonprofit group that collects and uses expired or bad looking foods.
這是一個非營利性組織，其收集和使用過期或看起來不太好的食品。
"They read these dates and then they believe that it's bad, they can't eat it… when these dates don't actually mean that they're not edible or they're not still nutritious or tasty," she said.
她說：“他們看到這些日期，就會認為食物不好，不能吃……而這些日期實際上并不表示它們不能食用或它們不再有營養或不美味。”
Some food sellers in Britain recently removed "best before" labels from prepackaged fruit and vegetables.
英國的一些食品銷售商最近從預先包裝好的水果和蔬菜上去掉了“最佳食用日期”標簽。
The European Union may soon announce changes to its labeling laws.
歐盟可能很快就會宣布修改其標簽法。
It may even end the requirement to include a date.
它甚至可能會取消要求添加日期的規定。
In the U.S., there is no similar effort to do away with "best before" labels.
美國沒有采取類似的舉措來去掉“最佳食用日期”標簽。
But there is a movement to make changes to labels that will help educate buyers about when food can be eaten.
但有一場要求修改標簽規定的運動，這將有助于教育購買者了解食品的食用期限。
Some big food store owners and food companies are pushing for the U.S. Congress to pass new laws on the subject.
一些大型食品店老板和食品公司正在推動美國國會就這一問題通過新的法律。
Dana Gunders is executive director of ReFED.
達納·岡德斯是ReFED的執行董事。
It is a nonprofit group in New York state that studies food waste.
這是紐約州的一個非營利性組織，其研究食物垃圾。
Gunders said the level of support for the new laws is growing.
岡德斯說，支持新法律的人越來越多。
ReFED says as much as 35 percent of available food goes uneaten in the United States.
ReFED表示，在美國，多達35%的可食用食物沒有被食用。
That adds up to a lot of wasted energy.
這就浪費了大量能源。
The waste includes the water, land and labor that goes into the food production.
浪費的能源包括用于食品生產的水、土地和勞動力。
The group says it also means more greenhouse gases coming from landfills, where people bury waste.
該組織表示，這也意味著垃圾填埋場會產生更多的溫室氣體，垃圾填埋場是人們掩埋垃圾的地方。
But ReFED estimates that seven percent of U.S. food waste comes from people’s misunderstanding of “best before” labels.
但ReFED估計，美國7%的食物垃圾來自人們對“最佳食用日期”標簽的誤解。
That percentage is equal to about 3.6 million tons each year.
這一比例相當于每年約360萬噸。
Date labels first appeared in the 1970s but there are no federal rules controlling them.
日期標簽最早出現在20世紀70年代，但沒有聯邦法規對其進行控制。
The food producers themselves decide when they believe their products will taste best.
食品生產者自己決定自己的產品什么時候味道最好。
Only baby formula must have a "use by" date in the United States.
在美國，只有嬰兒配方奶粉必須標明“最佳食用日期”。
Since 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that producers use the label "best if used by" for freshness.
自2019年以來，美國食品藥品監督管理局建議生產商使用“最佳使用日期”標簽來表示新鮮度。
The FDA recommends "use by" for perishable goods, based on opinion studies showing that consumers understand those expressions.
美國食品藥品監督管理局建議在易腐商品上貼上“最佳使用日期”標簽，因為民意調查顯示消費者理解這些表達。
Richard Lipsit owns a store called Grocery Outlet in Pleasanton, California, that specializes in low-priced food.
理查德·利普西特在加利福尼亞州普萊森頓擁有一家名為Grocery Outlet的商店，專門賣低價食品。
He said milk can be safely used up to a week after its "use by" date.
他說，牛奶可以在“最佳食用日期”后的一周內安全飲用。
And you can safely eat canned goods and many other packaged foods for years after their "best before" date.
罐頭食品和許多其他包裝食品在“最佳食用日期”之后的幾年內都可以安全食用。
The FDA says people should look for changes in color, thickness, or feel to learn if foods are all right to eat.
美國食品藥品監督管理局表示，人們應該通過觀察顏色、厚度或觸感的變化來了解食物是否可以食用。
"Our bodies are very well equipped to recognize the signs of decay, when food is past its edible point," Gunders said.
岡德斯說：“當食物超過可食用限度時，我們的身體有能力識別腐爛的跡象。”
"We've lost trust in those senses and we've replaced it with trust in these dates."
“我們已經失去了對這些感官的信任，取而代之的是對這些日期的信任。”
Clearer labeling and donation rules could help groups like Food Shift.
更明確的標簽和捐贈規則可以幫助像Food Shift這樣的組織。
The group trains cooks using outdated food.
該組織使用過期的食物培訓廚師。
If new laws are approved in Congress, food could be donated to food rescue organizations even after its quality date has passed.
如果國會通過了新法律，即使食品已經過了保質期，也可以被捐贈給食品救援組織。
Food rescue describes efforts to find uses for outdated food.
食品救援指的是為過期食品尋找用途的活動。
Currently, the Associated Press says at least 20 states ban the sale or donation of food after its quality date has passed.
據美聯社報道，目前至少有20個州禁止出售或捐贈超過保質期的食品。
I’m Jill Robbins.
吉爾·羅賓斯為您播報。
譯文為可可英語翻譯，未經授權請勿轉載！
