The expert told how to use expired dairy products

It is possible that in the near future some products in supermarkets will disappear from the shelves. And not at all because there was a shortage of them. On February 1, Russia begins an experiment to combat expired products. So far, some types of dairy products (including for children), beer, low-alcohol drinks, mineral and carbonated water have been admitted to it by a government decision. As well as tobacco products in all its diversity – from cigarettes to mixtures for hookahs.

If you do not go into the technological features of the experiment, which will last until August 1 this year, then its essence is to prevent expired and illegal food and tobacco products from being sold at retail. Cash desks simply technically will not be able to punch checks for labeled goods with an expired shelf life.

The key issue here is expired products. According to open sources, this violation is in the top 3 in the consumer market and is found in literally every store.

In general, if we take it as a whole, then at the retail stage, about 18 million tons of expired products are detected per year, which is almost a fifth of their production. Something is sent to the scrap – traditionally to a landfill, where the products crush the tractor. And we buy something for hard cash and put it in the refrigerator: not every buyer looks at the label, which indicates the expiration date.

In general, confusion and vacillation. Despite the fact that the country has been operating an electronic labeling system for several years, covering almost the entire range of goods produced in the country. And as far as food is concerned, there is also the Mercury system, which tracks the entire path of the product from the manufacturer to the counter.

And what is the result? As we have already said, a fifth of the spoiled food is transported by garbage trucks to landfills and feeds crows and rooks there…

With a delay, to tell the truth, we still don’t know exactly what to do. Crushing tractors in a landfill is a pity. Their production requires human labor and energy resources.

Many experts suggest that they be distributed free of charge or at symbolic prices for socially unprotected segments of the population. After all, if a product, say, with a short period of delay, this does not mean that it is unsuitable for consumption. Other experts believe that such products are dangerous to eat, but they are quite suitable for further processing, from them you can get fertilizer for gardeners or animal feed.

As the owner of a small convenience store told us, the requirements for the quality of products in Russia are very strict – and rightly so. After all, human health depends on nutrition.

But it is not necessary to throw everything away if the expiration date has passed.

– If this is “live” milk, from under the cow, it turns into curdled milk, which you can drink or bake pancakes from it, – he explained. – Pasteurized milk after 5-7 days of storage is also good, at home you can make cottage cheese from it. Ultra-pasteurized, long-term storage, after six months it is best to immediately pour into the sink, this is no longer a product .. Cheeses, sour cream have different expiration dates. But if they change color or smell, throw them in the trash….

Meanwhile, comments appeared on social networks that the tightening of conditions for delay would hurt milk producers – Russian farmers and large agricultural holdings. They will start to go bankrupt and there will be even less domestic dairy products in the country. However, as Tatiana Nagayeva, director of the Milk Institute, told us, the experiment is unlikely to affect the peasants.

– Raw chilled pasteurized milk has a shelf life of 4-9 days, – Next comes acidification. Manufacturers always supply raw materials to factories according to the regulations; they are not stored in cooling tanks for more than 24 hours. In addition, the plant accepts milk according to 36 indicators – all of them are strictly observed. Perhaps there will be some part of the return from retail, but most likely – to dairies.

By the way, at the recent congress of “dairy workers” the question of the shelf life of dairy products was raised. Most of all, the directors of processing enterprises complained about the strict requirements for cheese. As a rule, 6 months, and the retailer returns the products back to them as a delay after 5.5 months.