to think we are going INSANE over food 'expiry' dates??

[PacificDogwood]

Bread that gets thrown out on its sell by date?
Sugar/salt with sell by dates?
Nothing can be reheated for fear of Death by D+V?

As far as I am concerned, if it looks ok, smells ok, has not grown fur and cannot move under its own steam and I want it, I will eat it.

All this throwing out of perfectly good food really gets on my wick.
Supermarkets locking bins so nobody can help themselves to out of date stuff that is being chucked out anyway? WTF?

We have gone insane. Please nobody spoil my rant by mentioning the very rare case of botulism from tinned food - I'll still take my chances.

I feel better. Thanks for listening.

I vaguely remember from a 3 day course in food hygiene I did a long time ago that the bacteria that cause food to smell bad are not the same ones that make the food toxic - but they are usually around at the same time which is what makes smell a reasonable safe, but not foolproof, method of assessing food safety.

I used a curry paste that said 'use by 2009'. Still not dead.
Ive never had food poisoning from my own fridge.

Food safety/hygiene is important, but so much more so in commercial settings: I think it is right that hairnets/hats are worn in professional kitchens, but have never worn one in my own.
Same goes for other things. As upthread mentioned, most cases of botulism were one single outbreak, not lots of people eating out of date beans. Remember E.coli 0157 deaths in Scotland a few years ago? All traced back to the same butcher.

I still reserve the right to use my own judgement. And as lots of you have said, I have never made myself or anybody else ill.
Might have less guests at future dinner parties if anybody from RL recognises me here for the 'eat by' rebel that I am, mind .