Out of date coleslaw - I’ve pushed the limits so you don’t have to

[FusionChefGeoff]

If you throw away perfectly good food just because of a date printed on the pack, look away now.

I am very cavalier about dates - although pretty hot in food prep and hygiene storage.

I ate some coleslaw yesterday which was dated 5th September. Yes, that’s right. THREE WEEKS out of date.

Im fine.

My immune system did its job and any bacteria that were lurking have been dealt with. I know that people who are immunocompromised would not approach this in the same way!

Admittedly I did think at the time ‘well, no major plans for the next 48 hours if the worst does happen’ but I still risk assessed it and decided to go for it

Ahhhh my people! I’m so glad that common sense, critical thinking and risk assessment still survive.

Jar of mincemeat from 2023 eaten Xmas 2025. Still alive.

I’m super cavalier about dates too but the sickest I’ve ever been was rancid bacon- you couldn’t tell by smell, it was smoked, but in hindsight it did feel a touch slimy. Tasted fine in a bacon sandwich at 9am. By 2am I was laid out on the bathroom floor praying the dawn took me quickly 😅 the nausea was next level, never known anything like it.

Anything ‘processed’ usually lasts ages though, especially when it’s packed and sealed.

DH found some fish fingers in the freezer the other day, use by November 2019. Now I know freezing keeps stuff for a long time, and I'm on the whole pretty cavalier about use by dates, but I drew the line at eating those.

DH decided rather than waste the fish fingers he'd cook them up in the air fryer for the dog. Dog of course wolfed them down happily but has been emitting horrible fishy farts ever since. I'm glad I didn't eat them.

As a teen I went with my father to visit my grandpa (lived in another country, still in my father's childhood home). We discovered a tin of treacle - from when my father was 7 years old. It was rusty, but the 40 year old treacle tasted fine! Nobody got ill...

I have a master’s degree in public health. When I did my epidemiology training and we had to track food borne outbreaks as a case study, it was literally always the coleslaw. So much so, it’s put me off coleslaw. 🤣 Gods speed to you.

Still fine for anyone who’s tracking my experiment