Past date food
Author
Discussion

MarkGArgyle

Original Poster:

442 posts

171 months

Friday 1st August
quotequote all
I seem to drive my wife and daughter insane by eating food past its use by date. Last nights dinner for me (nothing in the house apart from beige freezer stuff);

Bacon - 1 week past
Tomatoes - 2 weeks past but fairly firm
Double cream - 5 days no crust
FF milk - 1 week smelt fine

Cooked up with onion, garlic, stock and mushrooms, a splash of white wine and of course spaghetti it made a nice meal and I am still here and fully functioning today biggrin

I figure like the fuel indicator light there is significant margin built in to these dates and if it smells fine and isn’t furry then…

Presume I am not alone here in trying to use everything?

nikaiyo2

5,439 posts

212 months

Friday 1st August
quotequote all
MarkGArgyle said:
I seem to drive my wife and daughter insane by eating food past its use by date. Last nights dinner for me (nothing in the house apart from beige freezer stuff);

Bacon - 1 week past
Tomatoes - 2 weeks past but fairly firm
Double cream - 5 days no crust
FF milk - 1 week smelt fine

Cooked up with onion, garlic, stock and mushrooms, a splash of white wine and of course spaghetti it made a nice meal and I am still here and fully functioning today biggrin

I figure like the fuel indicator light there is significant margin built in to these dates and if it smells fine and isn t furry then

Presume I am not alone here in trying to use everything?
Bacon I would eat if it smells ok and feels ok, I think bacon goes slimy when it is going off.
Tomatoes I would pay no attention at all to any date
Milk or cream would depend entirely on smell/ little taste (I hate milk and the smell makes me feel a bit sick but will use it as an ingredient)

The only thing I religiously stick to use by dates is prepared foods, especially spiced or herby things as the flavouring masks the smell of it going off.

littleredrooster

5,990 posts

213 months

Friday 1st August
quotequote all
"Best Before" or "Use By"? - big difference.

Best Before is an advisory that the taste may 'go off' but should still be safe.

Use By is more of a warning that the food may start to grow bacteria/nasty things and become dangerous to health.

I (we) are usually happy to have a good sniff of the Best Before out-of-date stuff, but treat Use By as a proper end-date and just bin it.

richhead

2,673 posts

28 months

Saturday 2nd August
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I always ignore them, i come from an age when such things didnt exist, i just use my judgment, if it looks and smells ok it probably is, the other night we were having cheese and biscuits, had some lovely cheddar in the fridge that had been opened and was well past date, i just cut off the dry outside bits and ate the rest. If anything it tasted better, the o/h wouldnt touch it.
I wouldnt eat an out of date ding meal tho.
But if bought fresh its not hard to tell.

hidetheelephants

30,971 posts

210 months

Saturday 2nd August
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Food dates are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men. I'd eat the lot as long as it doesn't smell bad/no fur coat.

wyson

3,736 posts

121 months

Saturday 2nd August
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I pay attention to them. I tried ignoring them, but then I noticed I had more frequent problems with upset stomachs etc.

Then I started using a meal planning app and almost never throw food away, buying only what I need, so its become a non issue.


ChevronB19

8,255 posts

180 months

Saturday 2nd August
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I’m usually good at eating use by stuff a couple of days max, and ‘best before’ months, but there is something in me that can’t face using milk past its ‘use by’.

Actual

1,356 posts

123 months

Saturday 2nd August
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I eat loads of food past the you will die Use By date and never had a problem.

When I go shopping I always get the products from the back of the shelf which often have a later date and will last me until the end of the week.

It doesn't help when using supermarket delivery services and have 7 ready meals and all have use by dates for tomorrow or the day after. frown

craigjm

19,574 posts

217 months

Saturday 2nd August
quotequote all
littleredrooster said:
"Best Before" or "Use By"? - big difference.

Best Before is an advisory that the taste may 'go off' but should still be safe.

Use By is more of a warning that the food may start to grow bacteria/nasty things and become dangerous to health.

I (we) are usually happy to have a good sniff of the Best Before out-of-date stuff, but treat Use By as a proper end-date and just bin it.
This 100%

BigMon

5,324 posts

146 months

Saturday 2nd August
quotequote all
littleredrooster said:
"Best Before" or "Use By"? - big difference.

Best Before is an advisory that the taste may 'go off' but should still be safe.

Use By is more of a warning that the food may start to grow bacteria/nasty things and become dangerous to health.

I (we) are usually happy to have a good sniff of the Best Before out-of-date stuff, but treat Use By as a proper end-date and just bin it.
Exactly the same here.

MarkGArgyle

Original Poster:

442 posts

171 months

Saturday 2nd August
quotequote all
I did mean use by not bbe. I cooked a chicken pie tonight and some of the now+2days older than when I posted milk is still fine. If I binned everything at use by then we would chuck a lot.

Also agree with home delivery as we get those every week and dates are not as long as if you go to the back of the shelf.

Could also plan better of course… biggrin

MarkGArgyle

Original Poster:

442 posts

171 months

Saturday 2nd August
quotequote all
richhead said:
I always ignore them, i come from an age when such things didnt exist, i just use my judgment, if it looks and smells ok it probably is, the other night we were having cheese and biscuits, had some lovely cheddar in the fridge that had been opened and was well past date, i just cut off the dry outside bits and ate the rest. If anything it tasted better, the o/h wouldnt touch it.
I wouldnt eat an out of date ding meal tho.
But if bought fresh its not hard to tell.
This. But don’t cut the mould off the cheese when others can see you!

LordHaveMurci

12,256 posts

186 months

Saturday 2nd August
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I have decent cheddar in the fridge, 2.5mths beyond BB date, have already eaten loads.

Got 2 other OOD cheeses in there to eat.

Had OOD ravioli last night.

Got chocolate in the fridge, dated Sep 23, it’s perfectly fine, had loads of it.

People worry too much.


Simon_GH

789 posts

97 months

Saturday 2nd August
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In the days when we all bought meat from the butcher and fruit and veg from a greengrocer, we relied on common sense. There’s a reason when our noses precede our mouths. Supermarket products don’t suddenly go off overnight in accordance with the date stamped on the label.

Fore Left

1,582 posts

199 months

Saturday 2nd August
quotequote all
I was told that Use By dates are worst case scenario when it comes to transportation and storage. So it's been sat in a cage in a warm supermarket for an hour before being put in the fridge, Mrs Miggins then sticks it in the boot of her car for 3 hours and stores it in a fridge at 7 degrees C or whatever the criteria is. Anything better than that and it'll last longer.

Oh and if your frozen chips / veg / sausages / chicken is stuck together its already partially thawed at least once.

Simon_GH

789 posts

97 months

Saturday 2nd August
quotequote all
Fore Left said:
I was told that Use By dates are worst case scenario when it comes to transportation and storage. So it's been sat in a cage in a warm supermarket for an hour before being put in the fridge, Mrs Miggins then sticks it in the boot of her car for 3 hours and stores it in a fridge at 7 degrees C or whatever the criteria is. Anything better than that and it'll last longer.

Oh and if your frozen chips / veg / sausages / chicken is stuck together its already partially thawed at least once.
And if you thaw something out and then change your mind, it’s fine to refreeze.

cliffords

2,763 posts

40 months

Saturday 2nd August
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I have had really bad food poisoning a couple maybe three times in the past 10 years . The type when you have your bum on the toilet and your head in the sink.
Each time was from ignoring the dates and saying no it's just fine .

I am super careful now ,don't eat anything past it's date . We keep the fridge at 4 degrees and we are fastidious about hygiene and cleanliness.

I actually feel a bit sick now smile

Mobile Chicane

21,598 posts

229 months

Monday 4th August
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The nose knows.

Mostly.

Keep fridges below 5C and never eat OOD fish or shellfish.

Riley Blue

22,497 posts

243 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
Mobile Chicane said:
The nose knows.

Mostly.

Keep fridges below 5C and never eat OOD fish or shellfish.
I noticed this morning that our fridge was at 7.1C and as neither of us remember changing it, it must have been on that temperature setting for years and years, probably up to 15.


and31

4,292 posts

144 months

Monday 4th August
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cliffords said:
I have had really bad food poisoning a couple maybe three times in the past 10 years . The type when you have your bum on the toilet and your head in the sink.
Each time was from ignoring the dates and saying no it's just fine .

I am super careful now ,don't eat anything past it's date . We keep the fridge at 4 degrees and we are fastidious about hygiene and cleanliness.

I actually feel a bit sick now smile


I had a very bad dose of food poisoning three weeks ago-I’m never ill enough to need a day off work, I was off work for a week, had a spell in hospital on a drip, lost a stone and a half in less than a week, still not right three weeks later-I don’t think I’ll ever gamble with best before dates …..I’ve never been that ill in my life!!