Second Harvest Food Bank selected Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative to be one of four healthy pantries in Lehigh County to offer healthier, low-fat and low-salt products, when possible.

WCHI obtains a lot of great information from both Second Harvest and the Pennsylvania Healthy Pantry Initiative, which is a project of Feeding America.

I want to provide date facts since consumers get confused what the date on food products means. Baby formula only - not baby food - needs to be thrown out and not fed to a baby after its use-by date. At that time, there is no more nutritional value left in the product.

The information below comes directly from Feeding America: Resources for Pantries.

“Product dating is not required by federal regulations, except on infant formula. Dates are provided to help stores and people know when food is of the best quality. However, the dates are not indicators of the food’s safety. Understanding the dates can reduce throwing away perfectly good food.”

There are many different dates that can be found on food packaging. Here are some examples:

• A best if used by/before date indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date. This is used for canned, dried and other shelf-stable foods.

• A use-by date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. It is not a safety date except when used for infant formula as previously described. This is used for fresh foods (e.g., meat, yogurt, eggs) and infant formula.

• A sell-by date tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management. It is not a safety date. This is used for fresh or prepared foods (e.g., milk, eggs, meats).

• An expiration date is the last date a food should be eaten. Food should be thrown out after this date.

• A freeze-by date indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality. It is not a purchase or safety date. This is used for meat and convenience foods.

How can you tell if a food is safe to eat?

If handled properly, a product should still be safe and wholesome even if the package date is passed during storage.

• Spoiled foods will develop an off odor, flavor or texture. These foods should not be consumed.

• Other signs of spoilage include bulging, leaking, rusty or deeply dented cans.

• Infant formula should not be purchased or used after its use-by date.

I hope you found this information helpful. I will be providing more interesting topics from Feeding America, Feeding PA and Second Harvest Food Bank in future articles.

WCHI requests the following food items for our food pantry: canned fruit, any kind of boxed pasta and condiments, such as salad dressings, ketchup, mayonnaise, relish and pickles. Right now, we have enough mustard.

Also, if anyone has an overabundance of homegrown vegetables and/or spices, they also can be dropped off at my Re/Max Unlimited office, 1080 Schadt Ave., Whitehall. Drop off items 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.

Thank you, and have a great week!