Page 15 - Social_Sustainable consumerism

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2.4 Reading a food label

Beside the sustainable labels, all products are packaged with numerous information and labels, which can
result difficult to understand correctly. For food products in particular, reading labels can help you make
informed food choice, and select products that are healthier but also more environmental friendly.

Beside the nutrition facts, and the preference to biological food, labelled as seen in the previous section, to
avoid the use of pesticides, here are some basic elements that you should take care of:

- Product dates:

Taking care of the date of the product will help you to plan your menu and avoid to accumulate big quan-
tity of food in your fridge that you will simply not be able to eat before they expire, so leading you to
through part of them and waste.

Also, remind that there are 2 types of dates:
- The expiration date appears on very perishable foods, such as fresh fish, fresh minced meat, etc. You
should not consume any food after the “expiration” date.
- “Best if used by” (or “best if used before”) date indicates the time until the food retains the expected
quality. The food remains safe for the consumer after the “preferred consumption” date, provided that the
storage instructions are followed and its packaging is not damaged; however, it may begin to lose flavor
and texture.

Picture from Mat Brown

- Origin

Since April 1, 2020, the EU Regulation 775/2018 on the labeling of the origin of food products in the EU
apply. This new regulation involve a series of changes to the previous food labeling, to avoid misleading
information or that may mislead consumers.The country of origin must be indicated on the products when
its omission may mislead the consumer about the true origin of the food.The obligation arises when the
country of origin or place of provenance is mentioned on the labeling of the product, and is not the same
as that of its primary ingredient. Thanks to this information, you should help you to reflect about the origin
of the product and think about its eventual transportation. For instance, is it worth to eat oranges coming
from South Africa in summer?