To panic over dd eating this

I frequently buy this kind of thing on cheap to eat the next day- very normal in this household!

OP, you've taken a bit of a pasting from a few people and responded with humour, well done!

This post though is, I think, really helpful. I had a conversation along these lines with a farmer once. His point was that food starts to deteriorate basically as soon as it's picked/ butchered whatever. We can massively slow down that deterioration with appropriate storage/pickling/preservatives etc. But this can be erratic - the milk that is left out of the fridge by irritating teenagers for example! which then impacts the life of the product. There are loads of factors - time spent travelling, temperature of your fridge vs my fridge, teenagers!, room temperature etc.

So assuming you've had thos scotch eggs in the fridge, they were purchased from a amajor supermarket, they absolutely would be epected to have a longer shelf life than if, for example, they were homemade in less than ideal temperature conditions, had been stored incorrectly etc.

😂 how could one possibly have sausage and egg for breakfast? Cooked breakfasts with either bacon/sausage, eggs, beans etc are the food of the devil, let alone a scotch egg. Only on MN.

Well of course they do, but on MN you only have eggs produced from your own collection of hens (or the farmer next door if that’s not possible). Meat from the local high end butcher who slaughters the pig in front of you. The pig of course has been raised on a 3 course organic meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Any carbs as a side must be sources by foraging fields personally approved of King Edward’s decedents.

Scotch eggs are the foods of deviants and proles.

I've never heard of anyone eating sausage and egg for breakfast either.

Child eats bleach, rat poison - panic for one second - then pull yourself together and get them to hospital pdq. It is an emergency.

Child eats food that is just out of date - why panic? What will it achieve??

Chances are it will be fine so you have nothing to worry about let alone ‘panic’ about.

If by any chance the food is ‘off’ what can you do? Rush them to hospital / demand their stomach is pumped? Force your fingers down their throat and make them sick? No no no no no no !!!!! What you do is…… absolutely nothing… except wait it out and see what end it appears from ? (Vomit or the runs likely outcome if spoilt food).

Really need to relax a bit and apply a little common sense - this is not an emergency situation. It is a total non event.

Yep.

I've always assumed use by dates had at least a day's wiggle room on them so the manufacturers don't get sued, so it's reassuring to hear this.

Op, your reaction is extreme, and over the top. Common sense needs to prevail here; it is 8 hours, not 2 weeks. Use by dates are a rough guide, you can have things go off that are still in date, and vice versa. The good old fashioned method of smell, and appearance is the best way. This level of anxiety is not a nice way to live, kindly please seek some help if you haven't already.

That was only yesterday. What's the panic?

Op do you suffer from anxiety? In the nicest possible way, your relation is very extreme for something this minor. I hope your dd isn't picking up on it.

If it helps OP, I used to make various supermarket own brand food. We had to make sure everything was safe till the use by + 2 days to allow for people putting it in a hot car / going to 6 other shops on the way home / leaving out of the fridge all day as a picnic etc.

As PP said - if those eggs were made at 1am they'd have the same UB date as ones made at 11.30pm on the same day. The whole 24 hours will have the same date. 8 hours is neither here nor there.

I have a vague memory of a TV show year ago where there was a bloke eating meat which was weeks outside of its use by date. I have no recollection of what exactly this was but I think the premise was as some kind of experiment. Anyway, he didn’t die.

Ha very good! YABU to even mention the word spam... but regarding the scotch eggs (or anything else), I always use my nose, use my eyes, use my common sense... then look at the use by date. You'll be fine - although I am slightly miffed as I want scotch eggs now and it's too late to change my Asda order...

If it smells alright,looks alright and feels alright, I never listen to use by dates

Like a PP said it’s not a magic date that causes food to suddenly cause you become ill. Sometimes food goes off before the date!

Your opinion on the food produce was not asked for, much like if you were vegan the op wouldn’t have cared on your opinion or links to why the meat trade is immoral. No one looks at a scotch egg and confuses it for one of the mythical MN Massive Salad, anyone eating one knows it’s in moderation. They’ve always been around and no doctor would with a serious face say ‘scotch eggs are killing you’…

And the OP is free to make her own decision, obviously. It wasn’t a lecture, I simply said what it is within the OP that I would have concerns about. And obviously based on frequency and amount. Based on NHS advice, not any cult.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-types/meat-nutrition/

The OP was ‘panicking’ about 8 hours past date, but has no concerns about the food itself. Fine. My take would be different.

No she will be fine. You do need to see someone anxiety tho - as she grows up, you being like that will absolute be good for me, trust me - I have anxiety.

Hi op. I worry a lot about meat as well so I can understand your concern. However in this case I really do think that you've got nothing to be concerned about as: fridge, only 8h and also I assume that mini scotch eggs are so processed that they are leas likely to go off quickly anyway.

Also keep in mind even if rhey have started going off your dd is unlikely to become seriously unwell (if she is otherwise healthy) or might just have a bit of an upset stomach.

......but you'd think I was giving her a Matilda chocolate cake for breakfast. When that's actually tomorrow's breakfast

🤣🤣🤣

OP we love Scotch eggs in our house, too.

And (gasp) Spam.

Bring it on!

I ate a yoghurt dated 23/7/24 last week, so almost 2 months out of date. I have a delicate tummy...and I was fine.

I didn't notice the date until the following day when I got another one for breakfast....that was fine to!! We only had one in and I was hungary

Whilst use by and best before dates are a useful tool you also have to apply common sense.
The manufacturer will have stamped all products made that day with the same use by date whether they were produced at a minute past midnight or a minute to midnight. That is a 24 hour difference.
A manufacturer also has to safeguard themselves from someone eating their product (say produced at a minute past midnight) on the use by date (say at a minute to midnight) and getting ill. They will build in wiggle room in the use by dates to prevent any issues. So they will show an earlier use by date than actually necessary.
For pre-prepared food (where the issue is it going off) use your eyes and nose as well as the dates. If it is a few hours after the use by date, it looks and smells ok make sure you follow any preparation instructions and you will be fine.
Anxiety can be crippling so I do have every sympathy.

I think you are really being ridiculous to panic over this. I'm the worst person for chucking food away as soon as it gets to its use by date, but even I wouldn't bother about eating mini scotch eggs eight hours after their expiry date if they tasted and smelled ok.

And I can see nothing wrong at all with having scotch eggs for breakfast!