Best Before End = Out of Date?

[BOOGERSnLICEnNOTHINGnice]

I have a whole bunch of baby food a friend had said a number of times that she wanted/would collect, but she never did. I only just got home from work half an hour ago and, in a surprise burst of energy, decided to clear up the house a bit. I came across the jars all packed away and put aside, ready for her to collect. They are all Stage 3 Hipp jars of baby food with the following advertised "Best Before End" dates:

2 x BBE January 2012
8 x BBE July 2012
5 x BBE August 2012
1 x BBE September 2012
4 x BBE November 2012

I was going to compost the contents, then dump the jars in my recycling, but have just spoken to my sister who said it would be stupid to do so and tantamount to throwing away good food, given that Best Before End dates don't mean the food is no longer suitable to consume - it's just that it's supposed to "taste best" before the advertised BBE date. She suggested that I advertise and give the jars away on here/Netmums etc.

I'm uncomfortable with the idea of offering up what most people would consider to be "out of date" food. WIBU to simply go with my original idea and "throw them away"?

Make some soup For dinner and chuck them in?

I wouldn't ever give my child something is one date out of date let alone 8 months so I would just throw it away

But Booger could eat it.. If you hate chucking food

Jan I'd bin
The rest I'd smell,taste and heat very well.

Given 8 jars you could always eat one and see if your sick.

As much as I don't believe in dates and will always go with my nose and eyes, I wouldn't give a baby out of date food...because their guts aren't as cast iron as an adult's is.

It's not worth the risk for a couple of jars of baby food.

But the November stuff isn't out of date - or even past it's BBE date.

The September stuff might still be worth offering to your friend and/or using yourself.

I would lose the stuff from the first half of the year, though.

just chuck them

"best before end" is nothing like "use by", and would be perfectly safe and fine to eat..

Agree with squeaky toy. BBE means what it says. "best before X, but perfectly usable later".

BBE and display until etc are quality/stock control numbers and are put on foods that technically wont go off.

Use by is set by bacterial load testing and should be stuck to, usually applies to perishables like dairy, meat etc.

That means they won't be poisonous they may even be perfect or they may just taste craper. I ate weetabix past it's BBE not dangerous but tasted like shit. So I'd still chuck them if they are for babies.

Personally I wouldn't feed them to a baby but would eat them myself or maybe to a pet, if you have one.