11Th Form Listening Text #1:

from “Don't Fear That Expired Food” by Dan Charles, NPR, 2012

You may be looking at all the extra food you made, or the food that you brought home from the store that never even got opened and you may be wondering: How long can I keep this? What if it's past its expiration date? Who even comes up with those dates on food, anyway, and what do they mean?

Those "sell-by" dates are there to protect the reputation of the food. They have very little to do with food safety. If you're worried whether food is still OK to eat, just smell it.

One of the places that knows most about the shelf life of food is a scientific establishment in Livermore, California, called the National Food Lab. They put food on shelves for days, or weeks, or even years, to see how it holds up.

Sometimes, they'll try to accelerate the process with 90-degree heat and high humidity.

And then, from time to time, they'll take some of the food — whether it's bagged salad greens, breakfast cereal, or fruit juice — off the shelf and place it in front of a highly trained panel of experts who check the taste and smell and texture.

"You would think that everybody can taste and smell food, but some of us are much better at it than others," says Jena Roberts, vice president for business development at the NFL. The lab has 40 of these food tasters on staff. "They are the most fit people in the group," says Roberts. "Because they don't eat the food. They expectorate it. Which is a fancy…word for spit it in a cup."

The experts give the food grades, in numbers. The numbers go down as the food gets older. Bread gets stale. Salad dressings can start to taste rancid.

John Ruff, president of the Institute of Food Technologists in Chicago, says the companies that sell this food take a look at those grades and decide where they will draw the line, to protect the reputation of their products.

Still, these dates don't really tell you anything about whether food is safe.

According to Ruff, most products are safe to eat long after their expiration date. In fact, even meat or milk that's clearly starting to spoil is not necessarily dangerous. "Very often, you won't eat it because of the smell, and you probably won't like the taste, but in a lot of cases, it's unlikely to cause you illness," he says.

That's because it's not the food that sat on the shelf too long that makes you sick, Ruff says. It's the food that got contaminated with Salmonella or Listeria bacteria, or disease-causing strains of E. coli. And that food might not smell bad as it might have arrived in the store only yesterday.

"In 40 years, in eight countries, if I think of major product recalls and food poisoning outbreaks, I can't think of [one] that was driven by a shelf-life issue," Ruff says.

True/False

1. The National Food Lab is a company that produces food.

2. The National Food Lab is located in California.

3. According to Jena Roberts, no one is better than anyone else at tasting and smelling food.

4. The food experts eat the food they are tasting.

5. John Ruff is the president of the Institute of Food Technologists.

6. According to the article, expiration dates don't really tell you anything about whether food is safe

7. If milk or meat is starting to spoil, it will definitely cause you illness.

8. Food grades go up as the food gets older.

9. Food that got contaminated with Salmonella or Listeria, or disease-causing strains of E. coli makes people sick.

10. According to Ruff, there have been many major product recalls and food poisoning outbreaks caused by shelf-life issues.

Multiple Choice:

11. According to the article, “sell by” dates are there to protect:

1. People’s health

2. Food color

3. Food safety

4. Food reputation

12. The National Food Lab sometimes accelerates the process for testing food by using:

1. 90-degree heat and high humidity

2. Bacteria and viruses to infect food

3. Freezing temperatures and ice on the food

4. Many different people to test the food

13. Jena Roberts is:

1. An expert food taster at the National Food Lab

2. Vice president for business development at the National Food Lab

3. President of the Institute of Food Technologists

4. Author of the article

14. Food tasters at the lab test food for:

1. Taste, smell and texture

2. Taste, color, and texture

3. Taste, smell, and bacteria

4. Smell, texture, and temperature

15. How many food tasters does the lab have on staff?

1. 4

2. 14

3. 40

4. 400

16. According to the article, “expectorate” means:

1. To use fancy words

2. To smell bad

3. To taste bad

4. To spit in a cup

17. At the National Food Lab, experts give the food grades in:

1. Letters

2. Numbers

3. Colors

4. Percentages

18. Where is the Institute of Food Technologists located?

1. Florida

2. Livermore

3. Chicago

4. Paris

19. Who decides where to draw the line for food expiration dates?

1. The National Food Lab

2. The government

3. Food companies

4. Jena Roberts

20. Salmonella and Listeria are types of:

1. Milk

2. Meat

3. Virus

4. Bacteria