(Still) edible or not?

[Kaat72]

Food and beverages have this 'Best before' date. Is it more a manufacturer's protection, a guarantee of their quality, or a real date not to pass?

I dare you... check your fridge and closets. Deny if you want but every household has products out of date. Would you still consume what you find?

This thread is worthless without pics of course

Found this beer in the basement.
Would you...?

 

[breadnatty08]

Really depends on the food. Some are dangerous if out of date, others are just not fresh or tasty anymore. And things like baking powder "don't work" if out of date.
Some beers age really well, but I wouldn't put Leffe Bruin in that category.

 

[Kaat72]

I decided 'not' indeed.

Gleaners 'attack' the restaurant, hotel and supermarket dumpsters every night. There is so much wasted. Are we throwing away too easily?

I double dare you... check your own pantry

 

[breadnatty08]

You'd be depressed if you saw the food dumpsters at my culinary school. The amount of perfectly good food thrown away there is terrible. At least, since we separate it, it's hauled off to hog farms for feed.
Oh yeah, I did a big cleanout of my pantry not too long ago and was astounded at some of the old, expired crap I found in there!

 

[Granite1]

We give our scraps to the chickens. In return we recieve beautiful eggs every morning.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

Meat and dairy I would not eat passed the date. But canned food and boxed food, I may.

 

[Kaat72]

Post a pic of your fridge.

This photographer Menjivar took pics of eighty fridges. You are what you eat?!

http://www.markmenjivar.com//projects/you_are_what_you_eat

 

[Revenant Ghost]

I have a tendency at times to leave raw meat in the fridge too long before freezing it. Then it starts to stink up the place and I have to throw it out.

Chalk it up as laziness or neglect I guess.

 

[breadnatty08]

Pic of our fridge. It needs some cleaning out. cough - old bagged lettuce - cough.

 

[Kaat72]

For real? Is that Bon Maman marmelade/jam in the upper right?

 

[breadnatty08]

Yeah, there's actually two in the fridge (one in the side).
Problem is, I don't really like either flavors.
Only one I like from them is Cherry cause it's nice and tart.

 

[Kaat72]

I love the wild berries flavour!

 

[SiempreTuna]

Sell By and Consume By dates are at best a fudge. They have to be: the regulator has no idea how the manufacturer, transporter, retailer or consumer will store the goods so they regulate for worse (probably not actually, worst) case scenarios.

The regulations are also generic so for example, Worcester Sauce actually improves with age and essentially never goes off (the manufacturer has bottles a century old that are still fine to eat), but the regulations lump it along with things that do go off so the manufacturer is obliged to put dates on the bottles. Totally nonsensical, but the manufacturer isn't going to complain as people tossing and replacing perfectly good products simply adds to their sales.

I tend to do what served our ancestors well for millennia and actually check how things look and smell: if they're at all funky, they get tossed otherwise, they get used.

It's simple common sense - problem is, common sense ain't so common anymore

 

[kate]

It really depends on the food. Perishables like meat, dairy, and produce go bad quickly.

Canned goods can last months or over a year passed the date. Here is a site that lists many foods and how long they keep:
How Long Does Food Last? Shelf Life & Expiration Date Guide

WebMD article:
Do Food Expiration Dates Really Matter?

 

[MoodyBlues]

I let common sense prevail. For example, if I have an unopened carton of soy milk that has been at the back of the refrigerator (there's a cold spot there that tends to freeze things!), and it's now a few days after its "sell by date," no problem, I'll use it. But if an opened carton of soy milk whose "best if used by" date passed a month ago happens to still be sitting around, out it goes.

Oh, and don't forget, the "if it smells/looks okay" test is NOT reliable. As I recall, botulin and salmonella are odorless and tasteless...and you would not want to get either one.

 

[kate]

the "if it smells/looks okay" test is NOT reliable. As I recall, botulin and salmonella are odorless and tasteless...and you would not want to get either one.

Interesting, I'll have to look into that. The smell test is pretty common with most people I've talked to.

 

[SiempreTuna]

if I have an unopened carton of soy milk that has been at the back of the refrigerator (there's a cold spot there that tends to freeze things!), and it's now a few days after its "sell by date," no problem, I'll use it. But if an opened carton of soy milk whose "best if used by" date passed a month ago happens to still be sitting around, out it goes

If I have an unopened carton of soy milk, out it goes regardless of dates

 

[bjacks12]

I've eaten canned foods years beyond the date. I still have some canned chili that needs eating.

Milk is safe a couple days after expiration...I drink it too fast though to ever have that problem. For me, milk loses its good taste before the date.

I think one of the nastiest expired foods is peanut butter. My dad made a peanut-butter cake thing once from 3 year old PB and it was nasty.

 

[MoodyBlues]

If I have an unopened carton of soy milk, out it goes regardless of dates

Now, now. That's what I used to think about soy milk, too--and still do, when it comes to UNFLAVORED soy milk. However, Silk makes the yummiest vanilla and chocolate flavored soy milks. Their "Very Vanilla" is my absolute favorite. Yum!

 

[kate]

I think one of the nastiest expired foods is peanut butter. My dad made a peanut-butter cake thing once from 3 year old PB and it was nasty.

Oh man, I could taste the funk while reading that. I've eating peanut butter beyond the date, but nowhere close to 3 years after.

 

[Kaat72]

Before '81 Dutch people just smelled if their milk gone bad, now there's a date on it. When the sealing is unharmed a lot of products stay well for sort of eternity: rice, pasta, sodas, canned vegs, coffee, tea, chips.
Potatoes are best kept in a cool and dark place, just cut the roots when they get any. Dried bread is perfect for bread-crumbs, toast or bread pudding. Chocolate is often showing a white coating; this isn't a mold but just caused by changes in temperature. Chocolate cannot mold.
Fruit is to be kept in the fridge, except exotic fruits like banana, mango or pine apple.
Belgian and Dutch researchers have developed a 1mm small chip that can be applied to packaging. Store personnel can soon scan the chip with a smart phone to see if the product is still fine.

 

[mikedt]

There's a guy on YouTube called Ashens, who makes videos of eating things that are like 20-30 years past their best-before and sell-by dates. One is trying some crackers that are 45 years old.

He's in the UK and has made some videos of eating some of the things people sent him from China. There's one and it's a century egg in a pocket, it's hilarious IMO.

I let common sense prevail. For example, if I have an unopened carton of soy milk that has been at the back of the refrigerator (there's a cold spot there that tends to freeze things!), and it's now a few days after its "sell by date," no problem, I'll use it. But if an opened carton of soy milk whose "best if used by" date passed a month ago happens to still be sitting around, out it goes.

Oh, and don't forget, the "if it smells/looks okay" test is NOT reliable. As I recall, botulin and salmonella are odorless and tasteless...and you would not want to get either one.

Mind you botulism and salmonella could already be in the food, regardless if it's expired or not. AFAIK those are bacterial and are generally caused by poor hygiene during preparation or at source, e.g. poor hygiene standards at restaurants.

 

[Kaat72]

Salmonella almost got me killed when I was little. A badly frozen icecream on a holiday caused it.

 

[mikedt]

Salmonella almost got me killed when I was little. A badly frozen icecream on a holiday caused it.

That could have been unfrozen for a while for all you knew. I'm always very careful of street food, and only use the ones I know, basically where previous customers have been ok. Although in 5 years in China, I've only had food poisoning once, and that was in Hong Kong with prawns. Seemed like a reputable restaurant as well. Any kind of shellfish have to be careful of, to ensure it's kept properly.

 

[mikedt]

"Best before 1968" ...still edible or not?

"Best before 1983"