What the... Eggs—sell by yesterday? Orange juice—best by two days ago? Yogurt—use by last week? Well, now I have to get rid of all this food! If I don't, someone could get sick!
搞什麼... 雞蛋－－銷售截止日是昨天？柳橙汁－－最佳賞味期是兩天前？優格－－保存期限到上禮拜？嗯，現在我得把這些食物全丟掉了!不丟的話可能會害別人生病!
No, you don't. "Best by," "use by," "sell by," contrary to popular belief, none of these dates actually tells you when food stops being safe to eat. In fact, food can still be good way past the date on the label. According to food safety experts, eggs can be eaten three to five weeks past the sell-by date.
不，你不用丟掉。「最佳賞味期」、「保存期限」、「銷售截止日」，和我們一般以為的不同，這些日期沒半個真的告訴你食物什麼時候開始吃起來不安全。事實上，食物就算過標籤上的日期很久還是可能是好的。根據食安專家的說法，雞蛋超過銷售截止日三至五星期仍可以食用。
Sell-by dates are a yoke.
銷售截止日讓蛋蛋哀傷。
And the USDA says canned and dried foods can be saved indefinitely.
美國農業部表示，罐裝及乾燥食物可以永久保存。
I won't go bad for years!
我放好幾年都不會壞!
And if food isn't handled properly, it can actually go bad before the date on the label. Even something as simple as leaving it out on the counter too long or setting your fridge at the wrong temperature can cut shelf life short.
而如果食物沒有被妥善處理，它在標示日期到之前其實就可能會壞掉了。就連放在流理台上太久這樣的小事，或冰箱溫度調錯，這些都可能縮短保鮮期限。
It's so hot in here. I think I'm...I'm going bad. Oh yeah!
這裡面好熱。我覺得我要...我要壞壞了。好耶!
At the end of the day, these dates just don't tell you that much. Instead, you need to check your food for signs of spoilage, like changes in smell, color, or texture.
說到底，這些日期含有的資訊沒那麼多。你反而需要檢查食物有沒有壞掉的跡象，像是味道、顏色或口感改變。
Okay, well, then this milk is definitely bad.
好吧，那這罐牛奶肯定是餿掉了。
Nope! You can still drink me!
不對!你還是可以喝我!
Oh, yeah, milk is a really neat exception. Even after it spoils, it's still totally safe to drink.
噢，對，牛奶是個很好的例外。就算壞掉了，它喝起來還是完全沒問題。
Oh, ew! Stop! You're gonna get sick!
噢，好噁!停下來!你會生病的!
Nope! Milk is pasteurized, which means any harmful bacteria was removed long before it hit the shelves. Even though it might not taste great, the safety risk of drinking spoiled milk are virtually zero.
不會!牛奶經過巴斯德式殺菌法消毒，也就是說早在它上架前，任何有害的細菌就已經被除掉了。雖然可能不太好喝，但喝餿牛奶的安全風險幾乎是零。
A...Adam, stop! I get it, I get it. But...if the date doesn't say when the food's safe to eat, why does the federal government put it there?
Adam，好了!我懂、我懂了啦。不過...要是標示日期沒有說明食物食用安全的期限，那為什麼聯邦政府還要把那標籤貼在那呢？
Hate to break it to you—uh, they don't. We all assume that these labels are some kind of big government safety regulation, but with the exception of baby food, the federal government actually doesn't require date labeling of any kind.
我很不想這樣跟你說－－呃，政府並沒有貼。我們都以為這些標籤是某種很重要的政府安全規範，但除了嬰兒食品以外，聯邦政府其實並未要求標示任何日期。
The citizens of this great nation have the inalienable right to eat five-year-old mayonnaise if they want, for this is...uh, America.
這個偉大國家的人民擁有不可剝奪的權利，如果他們想吃放了五年的美乃滋就能吃，因為這是...美利堅合眾國。
Instead, it's all left up to the states, and every state has their own rules. In fact, nine states have no date labeling regulations at all.
這一切全交由各州作決定，而每個州有自己的規定。事實上，有九個州完全沒有要標示日期的法規。
Well, who does put the dates on the food? Seems like they don't tell us anything at all.
那麼，是誰把這些日期標在食物上的？看起來這些日期什麼也不會告訴我們啊。
Oh, no, they do tell you one thing: when the manufacturer thinks their food tastes the best.
喔，不，這些日期確實能告訴你一件事：製造商認為他們食物嚐起來最美味的期限。
What?!
嗄？!
Here at Hulko, we use cutting-edge food science to determine the exact best-by and use-by date on which our food is the most snack-tabulous.
在 Hulko，我們運用最頂尖的食品科技來決定確切的最佳賞味期和保存期限，我們的食品在這時候吃起來是最啵棒的點心。
Mmm...yeah, it's still pretty good.
這個嘛...嗯，還是滿不錯的。
Pretty good garbage, you mean. Date it, boys!
你是說滿不錯的垃圾吧。小子們，貼日期!
But that food's not dangerous, and he just said it still tasted good.
可是那食物又不危險，而且他才剛說還是很好吃啊。
Not good enough! We need our customers eating our food at maximum crunchitude, or they might buy something else! And hey, if they think they have to throw it away sooner and buy more...
不夠好吃!我們得讓顧客吃到我們食品的最大爽脆度，不然的話他們可能會去買別的東西!而且，嘿，要是他們以為自己得快點丟掉然後買更多的話...
But that's...wasting food.
但那是...那是在浪費食物。
That's right, Melinda. And it's a major problem.
沒錯，Melinda。這是個很大的問題。
Melinda, this is Dana Gunders. She's a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council and a co-author of a major 2013 Harvard report detailing the massive problem with these dates.
Melinda，這位是 Dana Gunders。她是自然資源守護委員會的資深科學家，也是 2013 年哈佛一份重要報告的共同作者，報告內容詳述這些保存期限帶來的重大問題。
Americans trash over 160 billion pounds of perfectly good food every year—roughly 40 percent of our food supply is thrown out. And these confusing dates are a huge factor.
美國人每年丟棄超過一千六百億磅重完好無缺的食物－－我們的糧食供應中約有百分之四十被丟掉。而這些讓人看不懂的日期是很大的一個原因。
One survey found that 83 percent of Americans have prematurely thrown out food based on the sell-by date, but that date isn't even meant for consumers. It just tells stores when to turn over their inventory.
一項調查發現，百分之八十三的美國人都曾因為看銷售截止日而太早扔掉食物，但那個日期根本不是要給消費者看的。銷售截止日只是要讓店家知道什麼時候要更新存貨。
Wait, sell by today? But I bought this today! Ow, well.
等等，銷售截止日是今天？可是我今天才買的耶!唉，好吧。
This is ridiculous! Someone should do something!
這真是太荒謬了!應該要有人去做點什麼吧!
Well, some leaders in the grocery industry are pushing for clearer, simpler labels, but until there's a nationally mandated system, their recommendations are just voluntary.
嗯，一些雜貨業龍頭正在推動標示更清楚、更簡單的標籤，但在國家法定的系統出現前，他們的建議只是出於自發性的。
And the worst part is we're trashing all this perfectly good food while millions are going hungry.
最糟糕的是，當我們把這全部還好好的食物丟掉的同時，有幾百萬人正在挨餓受苦。
Whoa! That one's alive. All this has gotta go.
哇!那一個是活的。這全都得丟掉。
No, I'm still good...
不，我還沒壞掉啊...
- 「和一般的看法不同」- Contrary To Popular Belief
"Best by," "use by," "sell by," contrary to popular belief, none of these dates actually tells you when food stops being safe to eat.
「最佳賞味期」、「保存期限」、「銷售截止日」，和我們一般以為的不同，這些日期沒半個真的告訴你食物什麼時候開始吃起來不安全。 - 「開始腐壞」- Go Bad
I won't go bad for years!
我放好幾年都不會壞！ - 「到頭來、最終」- At The End Of The Day
At the end of the day, these dates just don't tell you that much.
說到底，這些日期含有的資訊沒那麼多。
