Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 30, 1995 TAG: 9505300126
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Expiration or suggested ``use by'' dates are expanding beyond the perishable food case in a bid by some companies to meet consumer demand for the freshest goods and to sell their products.
``Freshness is very closely associated with getting your money's worth and ... with quality,'' said Mona Doyle, president of Consumer Network, a Philadelphia-based market research firm.
The Food and Drug Administration and state and industry officials say that using processed and packaged foods after their suggested use date does not pose any risk to public health. Quality is the only attribute that may be affected, they said.
``There's not a safety issue here, but a product that's been sitting around in a warehouse six to nine months is not going to taste as well,'' said Jeff Nedelman, spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers of America, whose 140 members make 85 percent of everything sold in grocery stores.
Cookies may become as hard as jawbreakers, and two aspirin might not chase a splitting headache away.
``These are essentially quality markers,'' said Regina Hildwine, a director of regulatory affairs for the National Food Processors Association.
``We know that freshness is something that has great consumer appeal,'' Nedelman said.
He didn't know how many members were using the dates, which set informal deadlines for when consumers should use a product for the best results.
``Some of it is just sharp marketing,'' Nedelman said.
But companies also are trying to satisfy consumers.
``We did have a lot of people calling and saying `I want to know how old this product is,''' said Pam Becker, spokeswoman for General Mills Inc. The company began dating its 38 brands of cold cereal in 1992, she said.
by CNB