Here's some food for thought: To my dismay, when I go to the grocery store, I often see people grab products nearest them -- the ones placed at the very front of each shelf -- without thinking twice about it. Whether due to laziness or just plain ignorance, they are putting in their carts items that are potentially nearing expiration. Grocery chains follow the "first in, first out rule." They obviously want to get rid of older inventory first, so they make those more prominent so that consumers are more likely to get them. Newer goods, on the other hand, are placed toward the back of the shelf. Many people arrange their items similarly at home so that they lessen the chances of items going bad. You can probably guess where I'm going with this. As consumers, we want the most bang for our buck, and that means buying the freshest items with the longest shelf lives. Whether you're buying milk, bread, or other perishable foods, you'll want to reach for it...