Does this mean it's gone off?

[naughtymonkey]

Packet of pre made mashed potato. I've just got it out of the fridge for our Sunday lunch and the film lid has "ballooned". BB date is the 17th.

I'm sure I've read that can be a sign that the food has gone bad. Will it kill us if I serve it?!

Open it and sniff. If it smells OK it's probably fine.

Before Before doesn't necessarily mean it's gone off. Smell it and note its condition. If it seems fine, it likely is.

Use By Date is different as you ideally want to use by a date and you'd pay more attention to condition as well.

Just check the condition of anything you want to eat. You'll know if something is off....

Fresh mash will be use by not best before.

Having said that, unless it's been out of the fridge for hours in this hot weather, it's unlikely to have gone off and if it has, it will smell or taste bad or have mould on it.

It the ballooning is only minor, it's probably fine, but if there's no visible mould just taste a bit to see. Have you let it come to room temperature? It could just be that the air in the packet has expanded and caused the ballooning, rather than gas been emitted from off mash.