Quality

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Quality

Our Mission Statement:

Trusted World is committed to providing the best resources, at no cost, to people and organizations working one someone else’s behalf.

Below is our commitment to quality.

Quick links: Clothing Food Personal Care Items

Clothing

Trusted World receives clothing donations from the many sources- donation bins, clothing drives, and direct drop-offs. If an item is in good condition (no stains, holes, or tears) and is clean, it’s perfect for upcycling to someone in need. Trusted World has rigorous quality control. When it comes to clothing, we want to make sure the state of each article of clothing is comparable to what you would be comfortable wearing.

Jeans

Trusted World only upcycles clothing that is new, unused, or “gently used,” which means items that are in good condition, clean, and presentable. Trusted World will not provide clothing to someone in need if the item is in disrepair or will not work correctly. Missing parts, or are ripped, torn, frayed or stained clothing is not acceptable for upcycling. Regardless of the designer, jeans with holes will never be reused.

Shirts

Trusted World carefully inspects each shirt to ensure there are no rips, tears, or stains. We make sure all the buttons and zippers work, and there is no inappropriate writing or references. Trusted World understands that the individual receiving clothing from us needs items that can be used for school, work, church, or play.

New Underwear and Socks

Items that do not meet our rigorous quality standards are given to a local recycle/textile company. Trusted World receives a few pennies per pound for the unusable clothing, and that money is used to purchase brand new socks and underwear. Trusted World does not accept used underwear or socks.

Trusted World quality checks each article of clothing at least five times before it is ever ready to be given to someone in need.

Food

Quality checks on food: Different organizations have different rules. We follow the guidelines set forth by the U.S.D.A, the F.D.A. and any other federal regulations that we could find. We combined these findings and came up with the following Standard Operating Guidelines.

Seals

Trusted World checks the seals on all packaged products. Trusted World verifies each bottle, jar, and containers to ensure the seal is intact and has not been tampered with in any way.

Cans

Trusted World inspects every can, looking for sharp dents, the lining which might have been damaged. Small dents that do not affect the seal are okay, but anything that will cause damage to the product, such as a sharp edge or missing information that may be misleading, is not acceptable.

Expiration Dates, Best by Dates and Best Used by Dates.

According to the USDA.gov website “Manufacturers provide dating to help consumers and retailers decide when food is of best quality. Except for infant formula, dates are not an indicator of the product’s safety and are not required by Federal law.

Foods not exhibiting signs of spoilage should be wholesome and may be sold, purchased, donated and consumed beyond the labeled “Best if Used By” date.”

Many organizations have been working on these issues since 2016 when the government was trying to work on food waste. The USDA, FDA, FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Services), AMS (Agricultural Marketing Service), NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic have been working side by side to address some of these issues.

Below are the guidelines.

Food Date Labels and Product Distribution Guidelines

Federal, State and Local Laws

Federal Law: There is no federal law regulating food dates. However, the FDA and USDA do seek to protect consumers from misleading food labels.

The FDA does not require foods to be labeled. The only exception to this is infant formula which is labeled with an “expiration date”. As the nutritional value of infant formula may not be optimal after the “expiration date”, Foodshare does not distribute post dated infant formula.

The USDA allows each state to determine how meat, dairy and eggs should be labeled in their state.

Connecticut State Law: CT requires a “sell by date” on dairy products only. This date is not intended to reflect the quality of the product. There is no prohibition on dairy products being donated after their “sell by date”. Foodshare distributes dairy products days after the “sell by date” and allow the consumer to use their sense of taste and smell to determine the quality of the product.

Local Departments of Health: Local health departments may have their own guidelines about what products can be distributed in your area to your clients. Foodshare may distribute products to our programs that local health departments will not allow you to distribute.

A Summary of Federal and Connecticut Laws regulating Date Labels can be found here:

Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic Legal Fact Sheet for Connecticut.

Trusted World uses the information above as a guideline. Trusted World will not use any product past six months from the time packed. This allows our meals kits to sit for a month or two and still be well within the guidelines.