Food & Wine Experience March 3-5

Minnesota Monthly's 23rd Food & Wine Experience again will highlight savory foods, fine wines and specialty beers, along with wine seminars and the chance to hobnob with local and national winemakers, craft brewers, local chefs and culinary personalities. A Grand Red Tasting on March 3 precedes the weekend's activities with its variety of seminars, which will include a session with Bonterra Organic Vineyards, named Wine Enthusiast magazine's "American Winery of the Year." The 21-and-over event at Target Field in Minneapolis offers a wide variety of ticket prices, with each seminar carrying a fee beyond general admission. Tickets available through Eventbrite; visit eventbrite.com.

Flour power

The Baker's Field Flour & Bread, which provides flour for the baking industry, is having an open-to-the-public sale of flour, bread and sundry baker's choice treats from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Food Building, 1401 NE. Marshall St. in Minneapolis. Look for ANZAC cookies, granola, bagels, bialys, pretzels, sticky buns, croutons, s'mores, scones and more. The first 13 people in line will receive a free 1-pound bag of freshly milled flour. Need caffeine? Dogwood Coffee Co. will be brewing on-site.

Food you can use (by)

The two major food industry retail and manufacturer associations — the Food Marketing Institute and Grocery Manufacturers Association — have announced voluntary guidelines to help make date labeling on food products less confusing and cut consumer food waste in the U.S. According to a report in the Washington Post, "best if used by" would mean that the product is still safe to consume after the date. "Use by" would mean that a product is highly perishable and/or has food safety concerns over time.

Studies show that more than 80 percent of Americans misinterpret date labels and throw food away prematurely, thinking that it's necessary to protect their families' health, when the label is only meant to signal the manufacturer's guess at its peak quality. But don't expect to see any changes on your next shopping trip. While manufacturers and retailers are being urged to move quickly, they have until July 2018. Even then, the standards are voluntary, so there's no guarantee they'll be adopted by every single company.

KIM ODE