[OafFish]

Originally Posted by Mountaindewed

I know theres a difference between best by, sell by, and use by. Do you ever eat expired foods?

I'm eating a bag of Goldfish crackers that expired August 8th and they are fine. Dairy products though I will not eat even 2 days after they expire.

Canned foods I know they can be good for several years if they aren't dented. I get nervous though because of my irrational fear of boutilism.

Soda in cans I'll drink a year after its expired and it still will taste fine. After a year it starts tasting like metal

Sorry if this is a goofy thread. I just thought it would be fun.

Generally there's a big margin of error in the sell by dates of food. There has to be a pretty significant passing of time before food becomes harmful to eat.

[Soupe du jour]

Yes. I'm not that worried about some foods. I simply do the smell and taste test. Sometimes a food stays fine for a while depending on many factors, including storage conditions, avoidance of contamination, whether the packaging is open or not, level of pasteurization (if applicable) or preservatives, and the type of food. Often the expiration dates are earlier than need be because the producer wants you to use them quickly or toss in order for you to buy more ($$$$$) or to cover their butts if a consumer DOES get sick from it.

Sell by dates are mostly a guide for stores more than consumers. There is a minimum recommended time period between sale and use. Note that after time, some foods do deteriorate, but aren't necessarily dangerous to eat. For example, tortilla chips may go from crisp to stale (making them less appetizing), but eating them won't hurt you.

It's not a goofy topic at all. It's food science (and specifically Food Safety) and a topic frequently discussed on the Reddit.com Cooking forum, where I'm a regular member.

[Discombobulated]

Yep I eat fruit and veg and bread way past it’s dates. I work in food retail and the food waste breaks my heart, we have to waste perfectly good food if it’s a day past the display date. It’s food safety but it’s a margin of error. It’s getting better in that some lines no longer have rigid dates on them, like some veg and fruit, and customers are being asked to use their judgement instead.

Meat, fish and dairy are different.

That’s interesting about the out of date soda!

[lizardlady]

It depends on what the food is and how out of date it is.

Originally Posted by lizardlady

It depends on what the food is and how out of date it is.

This

[*Beth*]

NO. The idea of eating or drinking expired stuff really freaks me out.

[OafFish]

Originally Posted by *Beth*

NO. The idea of eating or drinking expired stuff really freaks me out.

But we have to eat the expired food before it eats us!

I do the smell test first and look at it visually, for example if it smells okay but I look and see mould growing on it, I throw it out. Whether it's cheese, bread, etc, if it's mouldy it goes.

[possum220]

Yes, I always do the smell test first. Mind you my sniffer is not a sharp as it used to be so I am wondering if I should be doing this. If an item lived in the fridge then I will go by the use by date. If it is a 'dry' food (Like oats or cereal or flour or sugar or noodles) then it doesn't matter. If tins are about a year gone then it isnt a problem. Longer than that I would be hesitant. Not a fan of botulism.

[Mountaindewed]

I opened a 4 pack of pumpkin greek yogurt and saw it had expired on the 3rd of September. Despite it still being summer. The first one I had smelled and tasted fine. I opened 2 more and they smelled funky. My mom said it was just cinnamon but I didn't trust them. Hopefully the one I ate contiunes to be ok on my stomach. If I wasn't a pumpkin fanatic I would have thrown them all out.

[OafFish]

Originally Posted by Mountaindewed

I opened a 4 pack of pumpkin greek yogurt and saw it had expired on the 3rd of September. Despite it still being summer. The first one I had smelled and tasted fine. I opened 2 more and they smelled funky. My mom said it was just cinnamon but I didn't trust them. Hopefully the one I ate contiunes to be ok on my stomach. If I wasn't a pumpkin fanatic I would have thrown them all out.

Dairy is a fickle mistress. I hope it ok.

[divine1966]

You can get violently ill from eating yogurt that’s not fresh. Even if appeared ok, it’s not worth to chance it. You can die from expired can food actually.

I don’t understand why people eat expired food- except if there is a. Issue of food scarcity.

[Mountaindewed]

Originally Posted by divine1966

You can get violently ill from eating yogurt that’s not fresh. Even if appeared ok, it’s not worth to chance it. You can die from expired can food actually.

I don’t understand why people eat expired food- except if there is a. Issue of food scarcity.

Idk I feel perfectly fine today.

[divine1966]

Originally Posted by Mountaindewed

Idk I feel perfectly fine today.

You got lucky. Just be careful with dairy products

[downandlonely]

I'm more careful about meat and dairy. Not so much dry or canned stuff.

[MaverickLovesYou]

Yes sometimes but not overly expired enough to sicken me

[Mountaindewed]

The other week I was drinking a bottle of coffee I got a couple weeks ago. It was very chunky. I figured I just didn't shake it good. My mom asked me how it was and I told her I didn't like it because it was chunky. There was another one in the fridge. Today she asked me if I knew they expired in July. I was pretty disgusted that I was drinking chunky expired coffee. I hate it when stores sell expired products.

[Discombobulated]

Originally Posted by Mountaindewed

The other week I was drinking a bottle of coffee I got a couple weeks ago. It was very chunky. I figured I just didn't shake it good. My mom asked me how it was and I told her I didn't like it because it was chunky. There was another one in the fridge. Today she asked me if I knew they expired in July. I was pretty disgusted that I was drinking chunky expired coffee. I hate it when stores sell expired products.

You can take it back, even better if you have a receipt. Best to tell the store so they know they’ve missed items on date check.

I work on chilled section and we date check every morning but sometimes things get missed.

[MuseumGhost]

I agree with most everyone here. It depends on what it is, and how far out of date it is.

Here in Canada, we have a "Best Before" date. That means it should be safe to eat, and also still be at its best, until that date.

Meat and dairy items, or items containing either, cannot be trusted past that date. No preservative can keep food safe forever. You're taking a chance on becoming very sick if you attempt it.

Even some vegetables and fruits can fall prey to botulism, which is odourless and colourless. So I stick by the "Best By" dates, in 99.9% of circumstances.

Otherwise (and this doesn't happen often), I stick to the taste and smell test. The slightest whiff of stale, or "off", and it goes out.

The whole food expiration date printed on food packaging is just a best guess. However, I know from personal experience when I was struggling financially, I had to eat expired food from food pantries. When you are financially struggling, you don't have much of a choice esp. when you have to rely on food panties for your food source.

Once, I accidentally ate yogurt with mold on it (I freaked out and posted about it). Diary with mold seems contradictory but it happens. I also ate moldy bread once or twice.

I won't eat moldy cottage cheese. Once I opened a package of frozen precut french fries and all were covered in ice, so that told me the bag had been improperly sealed so I threw out the entire bag.

I ate a partially green potato and thought I had solanine poisoning b/c I got sick afterward.
I hate it when you can't tell if a potato is green or not until its too late.

[AzulOscuro]

Originally Posted by Soupe du jour

Yes. I'm not that worried about some foods. I simply do the smell and taste test. Sometimes a food stays fine for a while depending on many factors, including storage conditions, avoidance of contamination, whether the packaging is open or not, level of pasteurization (if applicable) or preservatives, and the type of food. Often the expiration dates are earlier than need be because the producer wants you to use them quickly or toss in order for you to buy more ($$$$$) or to cover their butts if a consumer DOES get sick from it.

Sell by dates are mostly a guide for stores more than consumers. There is a minimum recommended time period between sale and use. Note that after time, some foods do deteriorate, but aren't necessarily dangerous to eat. For example, tortilla chips may go from crisp to stale (making them less appetizing), but eating them won't hurt you.

It's not a goofy topic at all. It's food science (and specifically Food Safety) and a topic frequently discussed on the Reddit.com Cooking forum, where I'm a regular member.

Your nickname is so appropriate for this thread. lol!

[AzulOscuro]

The same as @Soupe du jour says.

In the past, I would have gotten rid of any food item out of date but after watching a TV program about the topic and the economical crisis we are beginning nowadays I do as @Soupe du jour says. I use the smell and taste test.
I try to buy and consume to avoid eating an out-dated food but…you know.

Having social phobia, I think that it’s one of the few risks I let myself. lol!

I sometimes wonder myself, so people who have more difficult to feed themselves than me, have to take out-dated food. Why I’m not gonna do it. I can’t avoid thinking of them. No way.