Food expiration dates are garbage. Here’s a new label that’ll make you think before you toss.

This article introduces a new way to label expiration dates on food: using gelatin stickers that expire/decay at the same rate of the food! The different phases of the gelatin sticker represent the current condition of the food; once it is finished decaying, the gelatin returns to a liquid state, and it is time to dispose of that food. The concentration of gelatin affects the rate at which it expires, allowing this method to be used for all food products. As current expiration dates are mainly for benefit of the manufacturer, this method of labeling will cause people to think twice before throwing out food, and will decrease the amount of food unnecessarily disposed of in landfills.