文章大意:本文是一篇说明文。介绍了大部分消费者不完全理解食物的使用截止日期,进而造成了大量的食物浪费,所以科学家们呼吁对截止日期进行明确的解释。食品行业官员也正在考虑将保质期改为表明食品最容易变质的日期。
If you bought some candy months ago but never ate it, how can you tell whether it is still safe to eat? The easiest way is to check the “use-by date” printed on the wrapper. If that date has already passed, you’re likely to throw the candy away.
But is that really necessary? According to a new report from the US Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), tons of food is wasted each year, largely because people don’t fully understand what expiration (截止日期) dates, or “use-by dates”, actually mean.
Food dating was introduced in the 1970s because consumers wanted more information about the things that they were eating. When they first showed up, use-by dates were only supposed to indicate freshness because producers wanted their products to be tasted in their best conditions.
But the truth is that these dates aren’t related to the risk of food poisoning or food borne illness, according to Time News. However, most customers misinterpreted use-by dates and related them to the safety of the food, and they still largely do now. Eggs, for example, can still be eaten three to five weeks after purchase even though the use-by date is much earlier. When their use-by dates pass, strawberry flavored drinks may lose their red color and biscuits may lose their crunch (松脆), but they are not harmful.
“It’s a confusing subject, the difference between food quality and food safety,” said Jena Roberts, vice president of National Food Lab, a US food testing company. “Even in the food industry I have colleagues who get confused.”
This is why scientists are calling for a standard explanation to be printed following the use-by dates. “We want this to be clearly communicated so consumers are not misunderstanding the data and contributing to a lot of waste,” said Dana Gunders, a staff scientist with the NRDC.
But this won’t be a mistake that is easy to correct since people have believed it for so long. Another problem is that the quality levels of different foods change differently—some are still safe to eat long after their use-by date while others are not.
As a result, food industry officials are now thinking of changing the use-by date to a date indicating when food is most likely to go bad.
4. The use-by date was first intended to ________.
A.show the safety of food | B.give a warning of food poisoning |
C.tell the freshness of food. | D.indicate the relation between food and illness |
5. The underlined word “misinterpreted" in Paragraph 4 probably means ________.
A.made guesses about | B.formed a wrong idea about |
C.made wrong use of | D.took no notice of |
6. Which of the following is TRUE?
A.Most customers understand what use-by dates mean. |
B.“Use-by dates” have existed for more than 60 years. |
C.Biscuits can’t be eaten when not as crunchy as they are bought. |
D.Even after their use-by dates pass, some foods are still safe to eat. |
7. Scientists are calling for a standard explanation to be printed together with the use-by dates because ________.
A.use-by dates are not helpful or reliable | B.most consumers often misunderstand use-by dates |
C.more consumers get worried about food safety | D.the quality level of different foods changes differently |