Do you eat food that is past the 'use by' date?

[thulfi]

I'm eating some jalapeno houmous right now that expired on the 27th of December. Doesn't smell foul, and tastes pretty normal. Lets hope it doesn't hurt tomorrow.

Anyone else follow their smell and vision as oppose to that little black printed label?

[Bibio]

yup all the time.

i trust my nose.

[DarrenSV650S]

Sometimes.

One thing you have to watch is pate. Always obey the sell by date on that

[Ed]

Depends what it is and where it came from. Milk or cream - I never use it if over the date. But eggs seem to last for a few months after the date.

[DarrenSV650S]

Yes. Best steak I ever has was well past its sell by date, looking rather grey but well aged by that point. Cooked well it really was excellent - dont think I would have eaten it anything other than well done though :D

What interests me is why things like salt and water have sell by dates. Does water stagnate in bottles or something over years? The bottle I have beside me has a date of 03/11 on it.
I think it's to do with the protective layer on the bottle breaking down and exposing the chemicals that the bottle is made of. That's why they say not to re-use the bottle

[Bibio]

one of the funny ones is pure honey. it by rights should not have a sell by date, as it should never go off.

what did we do before sell by dates? ooohh and it wasn't that long ago folks.

[7755matt]

Best before dates are only a guide, its giving you a time after which the product may not taste as good as it did when 'fresh'.

Display until / Use by dates are there to say, effectively, when something can be expected to go off after. Display until or sell by with numbers in brackets indicate the number of days after the sell by / display date that the produc will last.

So really its perishables that have display/sell and non perishables that have best before. I can only imagine that the reason just about everything has a date is so noone can complain the product wasnt 'right'

[kwak zzr]

as said trust your nose, if instincts tell you its ok then go for it :) either that or i have a cast iron tum :)

[husky03]

never used to bother with the dates but after the last bout of food poisoning( both ends going like old faithful fireing out green/orange s**t-throat was on fire and star was like japanese flag), i'm a little more choosey.

[missyburd]

Definitely agree with the "go with your nose" theory, works for me and believe me, I got a LOT of practice in my student days, I was too poor to go out and buy more food...never got poisoned though! :-D

Depends what it is and where it came from. Milk or cream - I never use it if over the date. But eggs seem to last for a few months after the date.

+1, I use the egg test if the eggs are supposed to be out of date, drop em in a cup of water and if they float = I won't eat it ;)

[sarah]

but eggs can be dodgy even if they aren't rotten and float. older eggs are more likely to give you listeria (or something like that)

[phil24_7]

Used to work in the food industry, so know my food. For this reason, I rarely obey Use by dates!

[madnlooney]

just go with my nose and eyes. If it looks and smells ok ill eat it

[maviczap]

Yes. Best steak I ever has was well past its sell by date, looking rather grey but well aged by that point. Cooked well it really was excellent - dont think I would have eaten it anything other than well done though :D

What interests me is why things like salt and water have sell by dates. Does water stagnate in bottles or something over years? The bottle I have beside me has a date of 03/11 on it.

Most of our beef is never aged properly, and is sold in the supermarkets too young. It'd taste much better if it was.

Had a nice piece of beef yesterday that was a good dark brown colour before I'd cooked it. It was a piece I found in the cheapo section and stuck it in the freezer.

[dizzyblonde]

Used to work in the food industry, so know my food. For this reason, I rarely obey Use by dates!


Exactly, its there to protect the industry from consumers who swear they got food poisoning. You have a Best Before and a Use By. Best before as rule of thumb is usually ok to eat after the date. Use By, occasionally is ok, that one is the important one to take notice of.
I worked in Tesco for many years, and they use the yellow reduced stickers to get rid of everything if they can. If they couldn't sell them that way the best before stuff went on staff sales and the use by stuff went in the bin.

[Lozzo]

I'll eat anything.

If you were brought up on my mum's cooking you'd be the same. When I was 16 I joined the army so I could get decent food, and felt like I was being fed at the Ritz.

I trust my nose on most things, but don't usually buy more than I need at the time - the freezer is pretty bare of new stuff at the mo, mainly stocked up with food and meals I've over estimated on when cooking and stuck in freezer bags for 'later'

[Balky001]

I do usually go by the eat before date (obviously not best before) although I know a lot of the date are brought forward for fear or litigation which is a real shame enviromentally. Although I notice the OP was past 1am in the morning so at that time I'd eat anything! ;)

[suzijax]

I am over the top with my food i will throw it in the bin if the use or sell by date is on the day i want to use it if its past that date not a bats in hells chance would i cook/eat it and i would never never buy anything off the whoops counter at the supermarket

[Sid Squid]

yup all the time.

i trust my nose.
Same here.

[Littlepeahead]

Best before dates are really just that - the product is at it's best. So rice, honey etc might lose the flavour or consistency but won't be harmful. The same goes for anything pickled.

Use by is where the product probably has a certain amount of bacteria in it already - like dairy and meat. Over a few days or weeks these will have grown to a level that may prove dangerous, especially if you are not cooking the product - items like pate and ham.

I laugh at the serving labels - M&S Lemon Tart, serves six. No, that is incorrect, it serves me on my own in one or two portions.

[Lozzo]

I laugh at the serving labels - M&S Lemon Tart, serves six. No, that is incorrect, it serves me on my own in one or two portions.

And god help anyone who dares to disagree or attempt to share it with you, eh?

[Bri w]

Colour and smell, depending on the foodstuff.

That said, I recently threw out a pack of bacon that was within date - not a nice smell.

[missyburd]

but eggs can be dodgy even if they aren't rotten and float. older eggs are more likely to give you listeria (or something like that)
Hmm not heard about that one, but then it wouldn't surprise me. I wouldn't eat eggs that were 3 months past the sell by date or similar though, not that much of a risk-taker :-)

Colour and smell, depending on the foodstuff.

That said, I recently threw out a pack of bacon that was within date - not a nice smell.

I did that with some chicken recently, I always double check meat and if am not 100% sure about it will get a second opinion to confirm. I tend to ignore any dates on the packet except with milk as the dates on that tend to be pretty accurate.

[Messie]

Somehow or other the human race survived before sell by dates (and before fridges).

Biggest killers these days are heart disease, stroke and cancer, most of which are preventable by attitude. Throw away good edible food because of a label but carry on with blank blank blank* because it's your right/ it's fun/ it's only occasionally etc


* blank because I couldn't decide which example of bad lifestyle choice to put, because someone would take offense! Maybe should stick with 'riding a motorbike' lol

[timwilky]

Dates are just marketing hype.

Just eat the damm stuff, if it kills you then complain

[timwilky]

My meat comes from a good local butcher or over the fence, none of it has a date. Pate etc I make again no dates. Eating fresh local produce means no dates to worry about.

Milk in this house has no chance of ever getting near the sell by.

[Milky Bar Kid]

Like Dizzy, I too worked for a large supermarket chain and the same thing applied. Even the stuff with use by dates tend to be dated with a couple of days to spare to save the companies getting their asses sued by some numpty with a tummy bug saying they have got food poisoning. The same person who when they have a sniffle think they have the flu....

[Spiderman]

All the time tbh, it makes no difference to me what some supermarket or supplier tell me to cover their backsides in case i get a dodgy tummy.

Only real exception to this rule is fresh seafood but then again i very rarely buy fresh seafood from the supermarket unless i plan to cook it that day.

As others have all said, trust your nose and judgement.

[shonadoll]

I stick to use buy dates, particularly with chicken and fish. I buy all my meat from M&S, and regularly, so can't remember the last time I threw anything out. The dogs get a treat if I buy too much.

[missyburd]

The dogs get a treat if I buy too much.
That's true enough, any meat that accidentally goes off as a result of being shoved unnoticed to the back of the fridge ends up being nuked in the microwave for the dog :D

[phil24_7]

I tend to ignore any dates on the packet except with milk as the dates on that tend to be pretty accurate.

Milk is amongst the easiest of products to detect when it's off as it smells a little "fruity"when it's on the turn. I sometimes forget to check and end up drinking slightly "fruity" milk, and it still does no harm!:D

[missyburd]

Milk is amongst the easiest of products to detect when it's off as it smells a little "fruity"when it's on the turn. I sometimes forget to check and end up drinking slightly "fruity" milk, and it still does no harm!:D
I've done that a few times too, desperate times!

[anna]

As has been said, milk, and dairy products I always use within date, cheese gets the sniff test.

Chicken is the only other meat I am careful with, after having had a bad case of food poisioning when I was in italy, courtesy of chicken I am now super cautious of it at home.

I now only buy meats from the local butcher, it is just the same cost as the supermarket and has soooooooooo much more taste.

Saying this though, it does also depend how you store you foods, I am also very careful to store meats away from dairy and veg in my fridge. I also separate different meats in my freezer.

[TimMcC]

Milk is easy to detect.

Pour it in your tea, and see if it comes up in lumps rather than stirring in :(

[missyburd]

cheese gets the sniff test.



Take it you don't keep some of the more stinkier cheeses then :-P I don't bother sniffing cheese, it matures the more you keep it depending how you like it anyway. I do check for obvious mould signs though and then just cut them off as it usually forms on the edges of the block so the inner cheese is fine :cheese:

[thulfi]

Although I notice the OP was past 1am in the morning so at that time I'd eat anything! ;)

haha, too rite. Once its passed midnight, anything goes!

When I was at seecondary school, I used to stop off a tescos and buy some milk with a nice large choc muffin each morning. Once I had a sift through my bag and found a carton of milk over a year old. Imagine, milk out of a fridge for a year. I opened the lid to get a waft and almost vomited.

Don't ever forgot bananas in a rucksack either. It'll turn into black goo, and ruin your work!

With mouldy bread, if im desperate, I just pull out the green bits and eat the rest, thats if im desperate mind you.

[Dave20046]

Chicken is the only other meat I am careful with, after having had a bad case of food poisioning when I was in italy, courtesy of chicken I am now super cautious of it at home..
I've had really bad food poisoning from chicken too, as a result I'm really cautious as well. My doctor told me once you've had food poisoning it makes you more vulnerable to it again within the type of food it was i.e chicken. Sounds backwards though.

[Dave20046]

haha, too rite. Once its passed midnight, anything goes!

When I was at seecondary school, I used to stop off a tescos and buy some milk with a nice large choc muffin each morning. Once I had a sift through my bag and found a carton of milk over a year old. Imagine, milk out of a fridge for a year. I opened the lid to get a waft and almost vomited.

Don't ever forgot bananas in a rucksack either. It'll turn into black goo, and ruin your work!

With mouldy bread, if im desperate, I just pull out the green bits and eat the rest, thats if im desperate mind you.
Once left a carton of pineapple juice in a mini fridge, but accidentally left it on 'warm' and went away about a week later the smell was disgusting there were solid webs of mould everywhere.

[TazDaz]

I tend to try everything, even if it is quite a way past the use by date. If it tastes bad call it day and find something fresher to eat. Not had any food poisoning yet...

[Dave20046]

I tend to try everything, even if it is quite a way past the use by date. If it tastes bad call it day and find something fresher to eat. Not had any food poisoning yet...
Just don't do that with some meat or sea food.:shock:
I've fallen victim to chicken and prawns so far probably the worst I've ever been ill.

[TazDaz]

Just don't do that with some meat or sea food.:shock:
I've fallen victim to chicken and prawns so far probably the worst I've ever been ill.

I'll eat sandwich meats etc past their use by date, but raw meats I'll always cook up before they go out of date, even if I'm not ready to eat them. Seafood rarely has chance to go off in my house, love it all, especially whelks!

[Dave20046]

That's the right attitude :D
All this talk of rotting foods making me hungry...

[TheOnlyNemesis]

me and my flatmate live on out of date food and drink, we have decided the date they print is a lie. We havn't fallen ill once yet.

[Dave20046]

me and my flatmate live on out of date food and drink, we have decided the date they print is a lie. We havn't fallen ill once yet.
I feel a challenge coming on...

[missyburd]

me and my flatmate live on out of date food and drink, we have decided the date they print is a lie. We havn't fallen ill once yet.
I think after a while students tend to build up a much stronger immune system, I think that must have explained what we used to do! Anything to avoid not having to fork out on replacement food, and reduced items in supermarkets are definitely the way forward :-D

[Vindaloo]

I'll eat virtually anything, regardless of the printed date. I'll make an extra effort if it's meat.

I think after a while students tend to build up a much stronger immune system, I think that must have explained what we used to do! Anything to avoid not having to fork out on replacement food, and reduced items in supermarkets are definitely the way forward :-D

I actually had a doctor tell me exactly this ... that students and people living in ... shall we say in dirtier conditions ... have a much more active immune system than those in a sterile environment.

Anyone that's been abroad to countries with poor sanitation will know that all the most sanitory visitors are the first to come down with every tummy bug going ... whereas the people on the banks of the Ganges brush their teeth and bathe in water that's got 3000 times the accepted level of fecal bacteria (plus the odd floating dead body). Partly down to building an immunity, partly down to survival of the fittest, I'd imagine.

Sorry, did that get a bit grim?

Adrian

[MattCollins]

On some products I do not trust the use by date. It doesn't take much mishandling to make something unsafe. If it doesn't smell or taste right then I won't touch it.

[maviczap]

I'll eat virtually anything, regardless of the printed date. I'll make an extra effort if it's meat.



I actually had a doctor tell me exactly this ... that students and people living in ... shall we say in dirtier conditions ... have a much more active immune system than those in a sterile environment.

Anyone that's been abroad to countries with poor sanitation will know that all the most sanitory visitors are the first to come down with every tummy bug going ... whereas the people on the banks of the Ganges brush their teeth and bathe in water that's got 3000 times the accepted level of fecal bacteria (plus the odd floating dead body). Partly down to building an immunity, partly down to survival of the fittest, I'd imagine.

Sorry, did that get a bit grim?

Adrian

I have to agree with what you say. In our household we don't use any of those fancy cleaning sprays and we aren't cleaning cleaning cleaning all the time. Thats not to say we live in a dirty house (its just not tidy), but its not up to my Mother in Laws particular standard :confused: So much so that my Father in Law refuses to even enter the garden because its not tidy.

Compare this with my Brother in Laws place, which is always impecably clean and tidy

Yet when it comes to our general health my family don't suffer the tummy bugs and general health problems that my BIL's kids do

Both my MIL & BIL suffer from some form OCD I think. The hoover is in use every day :confused: Its not wrong to be like this a bit, but they are over the top with their use of cleaning products

[blueto]

no food should be eaten past its sell be date, Thats just disgusting!

that date is there for a reason. Do NOT EAT after

[maviczap]

This is why we throw away pefectly good food by the ton :confused:

[dizzyblonde]

I've seen a couple of articles on the TV about skip raiders. You know the people, go to the supermarket skips after hours and go and take what they want home.
Like I've said before, in the supermarket I worked in years ago, we put BB date stuff on staff sales and UB dates in the skip, unless a staff member got there first. At the same time every tea time somebody was always in the skip.....no they weren't tramps...they were normal people.

an example or two
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6933744.stm


http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/freegans-the-bin-scavengers-467108.html

even have their own website
http://freegan.org.uk/

[missyburd]

I've seen a couple of articles on the TV about skip raiders. You know the people, go to the supermarket skips after hours and go and take what they want home.

My housemate used to do that, usually only took tins though for obvious reasons. Not a bad idea though I suppose!

[dizzyblonde]

My housemate used to do that, usually only took tins though for obvious reasons. Not a bad idea though I suppose!


Eugghhh, I could only think of doing that, if my family depended on it!
If it was just because I was a poor 'eco warrior' student, then no, I'd give it a miss!

[TazDaz]

no food should be eaten past its sell be date, Thats just disgusting!

that date is there for a reason. Do NOT EAT after

errr...no.

[Messie]

There was a very interesting article in the paper yesterday about living for free. It includes all sorts of stuff about how much we all throw away.

The biggest point, though, to stick in my mind from the report is about the fastfood place EAT. They got fed up with everyone taking the (still good) food they threw out every day - so now staff are instructed to open all yoghurts and the like to pour over the sandwiches to make it inedible. Total disgrace IMO

Read the full account here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/02/katherine-hibbert-living-without-money

[Dave20046]

My housemate used to do that, usually only took tins though for obvious reasons. Not a bad idea though I suppose!
A few weeks ago, one of my mates awoke to his house mate skinning and cooking a squirrel he'd found. Apparently the smell made the place pretty uninhabitable for the majority of the day.

[Stig]

I use the open and sniff method. If it looks okay, smells okay and tastes okay. That's good enough for me. Foxy on the otherhand would be mortified if I were to try and use anything past the use by date. She bins it regardless.