Past date food
Discussion
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
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 - 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

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?
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
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.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

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?
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.
"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.
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.
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.
I wouldnt eat an out of date ding meal tho.
But if bought fresh its not hard to tell.
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.
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.

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%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.
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.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.
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…
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…

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!I wouldnt eat an out of date ding meal tho.
But if bought fresh its not hard to tell.
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.
Oh and if your frozen chips / veg / sausages / chicken is stuck together its already partially thawed at least once.
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. Oh and if your frozen chips / veg / sausages / chicken is stuck together its already partially thawed at least once.
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
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

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
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

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!!
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