From the desk of the Registered Dietician: Nancy Nissen, RD, Chief Clinical Dietician  

With the new year fast approaching, there are various customs that people practice in various places to ring in the new year with a fresh slate.  One custom that is interesting is to throw away all of the salt in your house and replace it with new to bring good luck.  

This brings up the topic of expiration dates on the food that we purchase, prepare and store in our cabinets, refrigerator and freezers.  It seems that everything has an expiration date on the container these days and sometimes the expiration dates do not match up with what we actually do on a regular basis.  Sometimes you find something in the back of the fridge or freezer and you aren’t exactly sure if it should be eaten.  Sometimes eating something beyond the expiration date is about how it tastes, but when it comes to how safe the food is, that is a different matter.  The following chart is just a few suggestions to help guide you in what is safe to eat and for how long. 

In general, follow the expiration dates that are listed on the packaged goods for dry and canned goods when they are unopened.