Government says it's okay to eat some food 12 or 18 months after its sell-by date

"According to the USDA, the average American tosses out 36 pounds of food a month. That’s over 20 percent of available food that goes uneaten in the country.

Food date stamps, such as 'use by' and 'sell by' dates, are not federally regulated and don't always indicate food's freshness. While some of food should be thrown out, like moldy fruit and curdled milk, a lot of it is probably just fine.

Now the U.S. Department of Agriculture is telling consumers to think twice before tossing.

A new app called 'Foodkeeper' launched earlier this month is part of a joint effort between the USDA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce food waste. The project, U.S. Food Waste Challenge, focuses on education, recycling, connecting potential food donors to those in need, as well as encouraging suppliers to appropriately label perishable food products like meat, poultry, and egg products to cut down on unnecessary waste."

Published April 23, 2015 by FoxNews.com at: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/0...