consume by dates on food

[Rhythm Thief]

I use the dog approach to testing food ...

Sniff ... sniff, niff, sniff ... bark ... sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff ... whine, howl ... sniff, sniff ... *lick* ... sniff, sniff ... CHOMP! ... belch ... wretch ... whine ... vomit ... scratch behind ear ... yawn ... walk away ...

Don't dogs eat their own poo? Hardly models of discernment ...

 

[Rhythm Thief]

If it smells ok, eat it. If it smells off, curry it then eat it.

 

[biggs682]

i go along with rytham thiefs words , never had any great issues so far

 

[Simba]

Depends what it is, meat noooooo, yoghurt, maybe 1 or 2 days after the use by date. Anything where bacteria can flurish I don't take the chance.

 

[Piemaster]

I was recently sat eating a yogurt. My wife looked up, saw me spooning it in happily and gave me a puzzled look:
"Where did you get the yogurt?"
"back of the fridge" <another spoonful>
"What date is on it?"
"Dunno" <inserts spoonful, looks at lid> "week ago" <shrugs, looks at half empty pot> "bit late to worry about it now" <finishes off pot>

I work on a ship, we can be away from port and not receive food stores for a couple of weeks at a time. The cooks are truly masterful at hiding veg well past its best.

 

[Bromptonaut]

As above. Best before dates are for guidance and are mostly about loss of texture or flavour. The product may not be exactly how the manufacturer wants it to be but still perfectly edible. Examples are table sauces (ketchup, HP etc), biscuits or jam. Some will degrade quite quickly, particularly bread, biscuits and some confectionery. Other products, often those sold in tins or jars, remain safe for years. We buy French Amora ketchup and barbecue sauce 'cos they're much more tasty than the well known UK brands and have found them perfectly OK months after the BBD. Even Colman's mustard goes off eventually though it has 2-3 years of latitude!!

Consume by needs more care. Fish and poultry can catch you out very quickly. Cheese on the other hand would be unpalatable long before it was harmful.

Mind you I was brought up in the sixties when things were less rigid. That. combined with my mother's relaxed approach to kitchen hygiene have probably left me with a degree of resistance!!

 

[srw]

I draw the line at shellfish, but anything else just has to pass the sniff test. Quite why anybody would stick to the use -by date on a packet of rice or flour remains a mystery.

Because even rice or flour go stale. Flour in particular - bread is so much nicer with fresh flour. They may last (as in be edible), but they certainly lose quality.

 

[theclaud]

Because even rice or flour go stale. Flour in particular - bread is so much nicer with fresh flour. They may last (as in be edible), but they certainly lose quality.

To be fair, industrially-refined flour doesn't go stale very quickly. But then that's because there's nothing left in it that the little beasties want to compete with us for. Good flour goes rancid pretty quickly, as you say, and shouldn't really be viewed as a long-term store-cupboard item at all. I'm rather with User482 on this - the presence of a use-by date on anything where it actually matters is pretty much indicative of a compromised foodstuff anyway. The idea of use-by dates on fresh shellfish or crustaceans is nothing short of alarming - it's either alive, or it's too old.

 

[srw]

To be fair, industrially-refined flour doesn't go stale very quickly. But then that's because there's nothing left in it that the little beasties want to compete with us for.

We really need a food science expert, but I think it's the fats and oils in flour that tend to go rancid, rather than beasties attacking it (unless you've got mice). Wholemeal is much more prone to this than white.

 

[srw]

I should add that one unfortunate side-effect of almost cutting out butter is that what you do buy tends to go rancid fairly quickly. I haven't experimented yet with sticking it in the freezer. I should also point out (before I get accused of lowering standards) that although Mrs srw bought a tub of Lurpak "spreadable" to use instead of butter it is exactly as nasty as you might expect.

This is a bit cross-thread, but StephenRW in the comments here seems to have some sensible ideas. Can't imagine why I might think that.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandst...ed-turnips-teetotal-gateau-butter-substitutes

 

[theclaud]

We really need a food science expert, but I think it's the fats and oils in flour that tend to go rancid, rather than beasties attacking it (unless you've got mice). Wholemeal is much more prone to this than white.

We've got one, and I'm sure he'll be along at some point. You're quite right about the fats and oils, but visible beasties shouldn't be far behind! I reckon nearly everyone who keeps flour at the back of a cupboard will have things living in it.

 

[slowmotion]

Yes. We only chuck out our flour when it starts moving.

 

[theclaud]

I should add that one unfortunate side-effect of almost cutting out butter is that what you do buy tends to go rancid fairly quickly. I haven't experimented yet with sticking it in the freezer. I should also point out (before I get accused of lowering standards) that although Mrs srw bought a tub of Lurpak "spreadable" to use instead of butter it is exactly as nasty as you might expect.

This is a bit cross-thread, but StephenRW in the comments here seems to have some sensible ideas. Can't imagine why I might think that.
http://www.guardian....ter-substitutes

Have you seen 3BM's thread?

 

[Bird Brain]

Christ I was ill today,took me most of the day to recover.Whether it was to do with that yoghurt or perhaps that bottle of gin was out of date.

 

[Rezillo]

Try www.approvedfood.co.uk for out of date foods. Some are past the best before date but none past the use before limit. I bought 40 packs of no added sugar Alpen from them at 25p per pack and a whole bunch of de-identified pickles (mostly Tesco or Sainsbury). All very nice although Rezillo should take note that I've been guzzling the pickled garlic and he may wish to stay in front this afternoon..........

Where else would I be? (ducks)

In reply to some other posters, watch out for sauces and the like that are past best before dates or have been open beyond the time recommended on the label. They can go mouldy and it is not always apparent from the outside. I doubt if it would do you much if any harm but I still wouldn't fancy eating it.

This is one of the side effects of reducing levels of salt and other preservatives in foods over the past few years. Tomato ketchup used to be stable at ambient temperatures but now if you look closely most brand labels will say to store in a cool place or to refrigerate after opening. The ones that don't will be saltier and more vinegary. A lot of other sauces have similar small print warnings. This is not some food equivalent of health and safety gone mad - just recipe changes that have consequences.

John