Show Consumers Aided By Food Dating Code The Davis County Extension service has received a bulletin sent out by the Utah State University Extension Service that is very informative on the dating of food products by manufacturers and food according to Helen Consumer Information Utah State University Extension MISS THACKERAY says that consumer agitation is producing the desired and that little by manufacturers and stores are dating some or all of their products with a date that consumers can One of the large grocery chains in Utah now puts an open date on all its private label THE AMERICAN Meat Institute has recommended the immediate adoption of the simplified four digit code for dating packaged manufactured meat If the recommendations are products be dated with four digit the first two to indicate the month and the last two to indicate the The numbers stamped on the package would read June IN SHOPPING for code dates on meat products in Utah Miss Thackeray turned up some of the new system dating She also found products dated in the old code which is much misunderstood by It also has four numbers but the first and last digits reveal the month and the middle digits denote the The consumer information specialist feels that a uniform code is needed for the sumer's just as important to the as the date the food package is is the handling of the food matter what the it will only be helpful to consumers if they check it and they understand that time is the only element of product quality revealed by the and that time is not the most important Temperature is much than Miss Thack-ry CONDITIONS under which a product has been stored may make it age more rapidly or preserve it for And neither the manufacturer nor the consumer has such control over unit open dating can only be useful when consumers and use this tool to help them to become more efficient food Miss Thackeray |