Category Archives: Food Safety

Scrambling for Eggs

As I mentioned before, I’m a member of the NC Food Diversion Task Force. It’s a new group (we’re just working on our mission statement) with members from all walks of life. We met today for the third time at the pastoral RAFI (Rural Advancement Foundation International) building. What jumped out at me during today’s […]

April 30, 2007 | Also posted in Food Recovery | Comments closed

Rockin’ Waste

Today, I learned a little more about a new area for me—avoiding food waste at concerts and sporting events. I was excited to learn more about this area from Syd Mandelbaum of Rock and Wrap It Up! (their exclamation point, not mine). The New York non-profit launched in 1991, but started operating nationally in 1993 when it got The Black […]

April 26, 2007 | Also posted in Food Recovery | Comments closed

M.R.E(fficiency) II

We recently discussed military food waste, where I noted that more than a third of MREs are wasted. I learned this during my visit to the US Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass. From what I was told, most of the waste comes not from half-eaten items so much as untouched ones. Soldiers “field strip” […]

April 25, 2007 | Also posted in Technology | Comments closed

Disastrous Waste

In a shocking bit of front-page food waste news, Washington Post reported today that FEMA wasted $43 million of prepared food last summer because it ran out of warehouse space. Truckloads of MRE-like meals–6 million of them–spoiled as they sat outside in the Alabama heat.  This situation makes an easy meal for politicians playing the public watchdog role. […]

April 13, 2007 | Also posted in General, Stats | Comments closed

Labeling Waste

While I was visiting my family in Boston recently, we ate at a local chain called Not Your Average Joe’s. It seems like the kind of restaurant we’ll see more of in future, serving a diverse menu of “creative casual cuisine” (whatever that means). It’s like a more local, higher-end Chili’s. Our table of five adults and two […]

April 5, 2007 | Also posted in Restaurant | Comments closed

Chicken Chat

This is the last of two updates before I get back to posting about my experiences working in a grocery store produce section (“The Produce Project”). On Wednesday, we talked about supermarkets throwing away rotisserie chickens after five hours. I asked Dr. Angela Fraser, a food safety expert at N.C. State University about this topic and she e-mailed that North […]

March 23, 2007 | Also posted in Supermarket | Comments closed

For the Birds

While buying a rotisserie chicken during a recent 9 p.m. shopping run, I faced a dilemma.    On my previous trip to the store, the chickens were sold out because they were on sale. But, the clerk told me, on all other days, you can get discounted birds if they’ve sat for four hours. Knowing I was going […]

March 21, 2007 | Also posted in Supermarket | Comments closed

We’re Not Alone

A friend in London just sent me this link to a column in The Observer of London on sell-by dates. It seems we’re not the only ones chucking plenty of good food, nor am I the only one badgering folks about it. It’s interesting to read about parallel food waste awareness across the pond. Plus you get […]

January 11, 2007 | Also posted in International | Comments closed

Sell-by Stuff II

Wasted Food reader Ed was curious about sell-by dates, so let’s talk a bit more about them. While it varies by store, most supermarkets pull items the night before or on the morning of the sell-by date. Lance Parchment, Whole Foods’ Southeast region prepared foods assistant coordinator told me they cull products the night before […]

January 4, 2007 | Also posted in Household, Supermarket | Comments closed

Sell-by Stuff

Wasted Food reader Brian raises an interesting question: Is there a rule-of-thumb estimate for how long past the sell-by date items stay good? After looking through my interview with Angela Fraser, a food safety expert at N.C. State University, I can generalize that most foods are fine one week past the sell-by date.  Of course, this […]

January 2, 2007 | Also posted in Household, Supermarket | Comments closed