Settle an argument about Best Before dates please.....

[thatone1967]

I am always of the opinion that best before dates are more of a "guide" than to be taken as gospel, but the mrs (and her mother) are completely against me on this...

Er indoors decided to do some pickled eggs just before christmas (on the 22nd to be exact) when she noticed the best before date was the 22nd, and she immediately consigned them to the bin.... please tell me she wasted them?


What are thoughts on best before dates?

[Romanymagic]

Well when I was younger we didn't have any best before or sell by dates. You tended to rely upon smell, texture, colour and taste - depending on what you were considering eating. So I should imagine if something smells ok, looks ok and is not dark green/blue then it would be safe to consume.

[anonymous-user]

"Best before" is just that. Quality cannot be guaranteed after that date, and the prodcut might taste rank but it won't kill you.
"Use by" is a legal requirement for stuff that can do harm if eaten/used after a certain date, so it tends to apply more to pharmaceuticals, and stuff with active ingredients.....poncey yoghurt drinks'n'stuff.
Having said that, I'm just tucking in to some pate with a "Use by" date of Boxing Day but it was a) vacuum packed and b) I can't think of anything in pate that turns to cyanide, all of which sort of blows the above comparison out of the water....unless supermarkets are starting to replce "Best before" with "Use by" on the basis we're all wise to the scheme now.

[Shaw Tarse]

Romanymagic said:

Well when I was younger we didn't have any best before or sell by dates. You tended to rely upon smell, texture, colour and taste - depending on what you were considering eating. So I should imagine if something smells ok, looks ok and is not dark green/blue then it would be safe to consume.

BBF is a guide as Romany said, use the sniff test, (though it may be ok to trim the green bits off cheese( or maybe eat them))

[21TonyK]

Best Before means exactly that, the product is at it's best quality before the date specified. After that date the product is still safe to use but the taste/texture/colour etc etc may deteriorate. Depending on the exact product it can/will stay perfectly safe to eat well after the best before date.

A use by date means a product may not be safe to eat after the date specified. Many are but unless you know for sure you are better to avoid using it.

So, yes, throwing away a product just because it's beyond its BB date isn't necessary.

/ I type slow

Edited by 21TonyK on Thursday 30th December 17:59

[Matt..]

Best before dates really don't mean a lot... I generally ignore them and only throw away if it looks/smells wrong

[Engineer1]

Best before is just that, if it is after that date the food may not be as good as it was, Use by the food will have started to deteriorate and stands a chance of making you ill.

[Pferdestarke]

thatone1967 said:

Er indoors decided to do some pickled eggs just before christmas (on the 22nd to be exact) when she noticed the best before date was the 22nd, and she immediately consigned them to the bin.... please tell me she wasted them?

Ask her what happened to the eggs between the 21st and 22nd which rendered them inedible.

[anonymous-user]

Moving on a bit, if Tesco's Finest is "Best Before" a certain date, is it just normal after that?

[Jesus TF Christ]

They're women and devoid of logic, the chances of you settling any argument are slim to nil.
Of course, you're right though.

[Deva Link]

thatone1967 said:

Er indoors decided to do some pickled eggs just before christmas (on the 22nd to be exact) when she noticed the best before date was the 22nd, and she immediately consigned them to the bin.... please tell me she wasted them?

Eggs are the only food item where it is illegal to sell them once they're out of date and there's a minimum time (5 days?) they must have between the sell by and best before dates.

Having said that, I've often used 2-4 week old eggs (kept in the fridge) to make myself an omelette with no ill-effects.

[Simpo Two]

I'm afraid your other half knows nohting of pickling or what it is for. And thus half the world starves, and the other half, not much better educated in practice, throws food away.

[calibrax]

The food has no concept of time. It doesn't know that at midnight it needs to change from fresh and tasty to foul and potentially toxic.

So there has to be a decent margin or error built in to these dates that the manufacturers put on stuff. Trust your senses, not the dates.

[Hoover.]

what... people read the dates on food ????

I once phoned a flat mates mum to ask if ham was ok when it trned a funny green colour, my old man says swears it's when it 's black mould it it's dangerous, green mould ok.... believe me I've seen him scrape mould off n eat.

[WhoseGeneration]

Simpo Two said:

I'm afraid your other half knows nohting of pickling or what it is for. And thus half the world starves, and the other half, not much better educated in practice, throws food away.

So true, just see the waste from restaurants and other food sellers.
Because, for many, food is relatively cheap.
Funny thing is, I do not waste food, yet do waste money on other things.

[Stu R]

Best Before - date food should be consumed by for it to be at it's best. Nothing more than a 'get it while it's fresh' guide.
Use By date - date food should be consumed by for it to be guaranteed safe provided it's been stored correctly. That's not to say it's immediately unsafe past this date.

Your other half is completely wrong, and is wasting what I'll bet is perfectly good, safe food because of their ignorance of labelling. It's something people are far too precious about.Use your nose, it's remarkably good at telling you what's safe and not if your eyes can't.

[silvagod]

I have heard that the 'best by' and 'use by' are going to be binned. Not sure where I heard it. About time too IMHO. There's nothing wrong with a little 'bad bug' to keep your immune system up to scratch (please don't get me started on THAT one!)

The only product I know of at the moment where the 'best by' date is totally useless is Lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce. That stuff gets better with age ad infinitum and is 'brewed' for years before it's bottled. They HAVE to put a date on it though, rules are rules

[scorp]

I used to have a friend who binned spray deodorants because he thought the went out of date

[silvagod]

scorp said:

I used to have a friend who binned spray deodorants because he thought the went out of date

Love the 'used to' part of that, and no surprises why eh?

[davepoth]

I lived with people at uni who would throw away epic amounts of food because it was past its best before date.

That said I did once put rancid butter on my toast. I can still remember how bad it tasted...