Use by dates.

[whiskywill]

I have always trusted my nose to tell if something, which is past its best by or use by date, is still OK to eat but yesterday I had a real winner.

I had made some gooseberry crumble and found some "Fresh" Double Cream in the 'fridge which had been left over from Christmas. It had been opened but showed no signs of decay. It had a use by date of 31/12/16.

I am still alive and kicking.

 

[transatlantic]

I think even if it smelt alright I'd give that one a miss! .. not worth being ill over. If it's fruit or veg or anything dry, then fine. But meat or dairy? ..no thanks! not worth it

 

[AJB Temple]

But you eat cheese?

 

[JohnPW]

I found some 250ml cartons of apple juice the other day, best before date was 2014!

With tinned or sealed stuff, they're usually OK to eat well past the date.

 

[Halo Jones]

We just opened a big pot of natural yoghurt, use by 31/06/2016. Absolutely fine. If there are no bugs in it to grow; they won't grow. Use By dates assume a certain level of contamination in a product and how long that would take to grow to dangerous levels if stored at 2-8oC. I'm a bit more careful with meat (especially chicken) and fish always lets you know it is off. Everything else is assessed on a case by case basis. Last time I had food poisoning was on a visit to Africa in 2002.

 

[sunnybob]

I've drunk beer that was 2 years out of date because the bottle top was still a good seal.
But I wouldnt have eaten cream that had been opened for two weeks

 

[NazNomad]

Would you feed it to your chickens? Nope. :-D

 

[pollys13]

Uum, think I'd give the cream a miss.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I think use-by dates give a good indication to retailers when it's wise to change stock on shelves to avoid the chance of it being off when sold. At home, maybe less critical - as others have said, the human nose and eyes combined with a little common sense is a pretty good guide most of the time.

 

[marcros]

From the food standards agency...

Use by date is about safety
Use by date is about safety and the most important date to remember! Foods can be eaten (and most can be frozen) up until the use by date, but not after. You will see use by dates on food that goes off quickly, such as meat products or ready-prepared salads. For the use by to be a valid guide, you must carefully follow storage instructions.

best before
Best before date is about quality
Best before date is about quality and not safety. The food will be safe to eat after this date but may not be at its best. Its flavour and texture might not be as good. The best before dates appear on a wide range of frozen, dried, tinned and other foods. The best before date will only be accurate if the food is stored according to the instructions on the label.

 

[HappyHacker]

I have to eat the out of date stuff in the fridge before I am allowed to eat the in date stuff. Of course by the time I have finished the out of date stuff the in date stuff is out of date. Not had food poisoning in years. I would taste cream before use though as it tends not to smell much when going off.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I bought a few dozen cans of anchovies very cheaply because they were three years out of date - it didn't matter, because they were seven years out before I finished then. I have a particular book - http://www.waterstonesmarketplace.com/b ... &hs=Submit which recommends that canned sardines are kept for a couple of years, turned regularly iirc.
My wife did think I was being tight throwing out a full fire extinguisher ... until I pointed out the expiry was 12/87. It's replacement was at least ten years newer.

 

[Fitzroy]

I have noticed over the years milk and cream seem to last longer and longer, I put this down to improved cleanliness in the industry and improved/ faster processing where the milk is chilled immediately out the cow and pasteurisation is more closely controlled. As a process engineer improvements have been made over the last twenty years in all the process industries but I think this one of the most obvious customer facing examples. I wonder if the testing/standards for longevity are also lagging the actual results somewhat. I frequently find cream is perfectly usable several weeks past it's use by date, especially if unopened.

F.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I used to sell quite a lot of White Worthington, and wouldn't sell it until it was out of date. It was far better.

 

[MrDavidRoberts]

I only look at use-by dates in store to get the freshest stuff in shelf.
at home if it looks goods & doesn't smells funny- I eat it.

 

[RogerP]

Arctic Explorers Uncover (and Eat) 60-Year-Old Food Stash
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-new ... 180956936/

 

[Phil Pascoe]

^^^ I did read somewhere that people had eaten frozen mammoth.

 

[whiskywill]

I would taste cream before use though as it tends not to smell much when going off.

No smell, no off taste and I'm still alive. At home, milk doesn't last long but at work we regularly use semi skimmed milk that is a week or so past its use by date.

 

[marcros]

I would taste cream before use though as it tends not to smell much when going off.

No smell, no off taste and I'm still alive. At home, milk doesn't last long but at work we regularly use semi skimmed milk that is a week or so past its use by date.

That surprises me, the milk. I could almost set my watch by mine- by the end of the use by date, whether it is 7/8 full, or 1/8 full, it will be on the turn.

 

[treeturner123]

Hi All

Two points:-

Re Milk keeping longer, I believe that it also has something to do with homogenisation as the un-homogenised milk I buy tends to go off more quickly. NB, nose and taste is fine, some products are 'off' BEFORE the use by date!

Point two. I seem to recollect that Lea & Perrins were disturbed to find that they had to put a 'Use By' date on their Worcestershire Sauce. They have some over 100 years old that is as good now as ever!!

Phil - still alive after eating yoghurt well after its use by date.