Around three in the afternoon, a lot of desks do the same thing: the bottom drawer opens. What lives in it decides what gets eaten, which makes it worth a few house rules.
Rule one: sort by shelf
The CDC’s tips say to snack on fruit and vegetable slices and to slice raw vegetables for quick snacks. It also suggests topping unsweetened yogurt with fruit. Those are fridge foods. The FDA says perishable food should not stay at room temperature for more than two hours, or one hour if the air is above 90°F, and that the refrigerator should sit at 40°F or below. So sliced produce and yogurt belong on a shelf in the office fridge, and the drawer is left for sealed, shelf-stable items. Almonds and pumpkin seeds, which the CDC uses as toppings, fit that description.
Rule two: read the added-sugars line
Packaged snacks hide sugar in plain sight, and the FDA puts it on the label. Its page says that for most Americans the main sources of added sugars are sugar-sweetened beverages, baked goods, desserts and sweets. Its shorthand is simple: 5% of the Daily Value or less is a low source of added sugars and 20% or more is a high one, with 50 g a day as the Daily Value. The CDC’s tips lean the same way, with “Limit sugary snacks” and water in place of sugary drinks, perhaps with slices of lime, lemon or cucumber for flavor.
Rule three: check the drawer itself
- Keep non-perishable food away from cleaning products and chemicals, as the FDA advises.
- Look at any can for swelling, leakage, punctures or extensive deep rust.
- Treat a use-by date as the maker’s quality guide. The FDA says it is not a food safety date.
- For food that looks questionable, or that nobody is sure about, the FDA’s advice is short: throw it out.
