St.Lucia's Groceries online ....
ALL PRICES ARE IN EC DOLLARS
DISCLAIMER : JTC Store.com does not necessarily accept the following notes as the guidelines for the consumption of products offered on our website. The attached information has been researched and presented for our customers knowledge. All this information is available on the WEB. JTCstore does not take any responsibility for information provided here. Customers are requested to use their on discretion and at their own risk.
IMPORTANT TERMS - OFTEN MIS-UNDERSTOOD OR MIS-INTERPRETED
“BEST BEFORE “ DATE :
The ‘BEST BEFORE DATE’ guarantees certain properties of the product to be effective up to this point. Once the date has passed, it may just lose either one or more of its freshness, taste, aroma or nutrients, but it does not necessarily mean that the food is no longer safe to eat. The product,when opened, should not be consumed if you find that the taste has been compromised, odour and appearance is odd or it’s exhibiting strange consistency.
This does not apply to open packages. All packages, once opened, should be stores appropriately once opened, irrespective of the given “best before” date. It may just lose its freshness, taste, aroma or nutrients. It does not necessarily mean that the food is no longer safe to eat.
Best Before date is basically a quality indicator.
This date solely indicate freshness, and are used by manufacturers to convey when the product is at its peak. That means the food does not expire in the sense of becoming inedible. For un-refrigerated foods, there may be no difference in taste or quality, even when the Best Before Date has passed.
Note: this only applies to unopened shelf-stable product. Once a sealed product is exposed to air, it is prone to contamination.
“EXPIRY“ DATE :
Expiration dates tell consumers the last day a product is safe to consume. Do not consume any edible after the given expiry date.
“USE BY“ DATE :
Another term that gets mixed up with this is the ‘USE BY’ date which applies only to perishable goods such as fresh fish or meat. Dispose them off immediately once they have passed the ‘USE BY’ date. This may not apply to perishable goods which are frozen appropriately ( recommended - air tight, at freezing temperature of -16 degrees centigrade ).