In 2012, a retired German pharmacist named Hans Feldmeier handed over to the health authorities of his country a can of butter packaged in 1948. To their surprise, the experts concluded that, although there was a slight decrease in aroma and flavor, the state of that product theoretically more than expired it was satisfactory in its composition and freshness. It was fit for consumption.
The expiration date is only a preventive measure to minimize the risk of poisoning. According to a recent report from Harvard University, this data does not indicate when a food should be thrown away, but from what moment it begins to lose properties, according to the manufacturer’s estimation.
Canned food usually lasts much longer than the labels say. According to a chemical analysis by the US Food and Drug Administration, they can be preserved for a century in good condition.
The researchers studied 100-year-old cans of vegetable stew, peaches, whole tomatoes, honey and oysters found on a sunken steamboat in the Missouri River. The content had slightly changed its appearance and lost vitamins A and C, but it preserved the other nutritional properties, and no microbes had grown. It could be consumed without problems.
The use of expiration dates and other indicators such as “preferably consume before” could end thanks to the sensors that allow us to read, with the help of the mobile, if the content of the can that we are going to buy is in good condition. The invention has been developed by Dutch researchers: it consists of a plastic circuit incorporated into the container that measures the state of food (such as acidity or the presence of bacteria) and transforms the analog chemical data into digital information readable on a scanner or in the mobile.
