To eat "out of date" food

[ReallyTired]

For most food if it passes the sniff test and tastes OK its generally OK. However I am wary of some foods being out of date like Chicken.

Am I unreasonable to ignore dates on supermaket food and eat slightly out of date food?

We are drinking milk (in hot drinks) that was use by 02/07... We're still alive. No vomiting

I have no problem with this - even chicken - as long as it doesn't smell worse than it usually does when it comes out of the packet. Wouldn't risk it with prawns though.

I bought melon chunks from Morrisons last week that were were three days IN date... opened the packet to be hit with a very vinegary smell. I wouldn't buy melon there again, that's twice it's happened.

There is a difference between use by and best before.

Best Before is exactly what it says, it's safe to eat but it may have been a bit fresher/ nicer before then.

Use by for meat and dairy is calculated as the point at which harmful bacteria would exist at a level to cause illness if it was present at in the product. The disease causing bacteria is present before the point that smell causing bacteria is.

That's the general gist as far as I understand, so I totally ignore best before but pay attention to the use by in terms of buying and when I eat to minimise waste that way.

Skimmed milk can last days after its use by date, other milk not quite so long. We dont adhere to dates in this house except with fresh chicken and meat. You can tell if some things have gone off, bacon gives off a foul smell if you cook it when it's gone off.

I had some frozen kippers when I was at Uni that went between house for 2 years. I never did eat them but was sorely tempted one tea time!

It's not always about being organised Whatever. For people living alone, they are often forced to buy packets of stuff that they cannot possibly consume within a couple of days. Other people have jobs/lifestyles that make mealtimes a bit unpredictable.

It's a bit arrogant to assume that your way suits everyone and people who can't always use up stuff by the 'use by' date are 'twits'

Oh and eggs, I always do the "sink in a bowl of water" test over dates. Much more reliable.

Eggs have a "best before" date rather than a "use before" date anyway though.

It's deeply arrogant Daisy

whatever my elderly widowed mother often ends up with stuff lying around her fridge and cupboards because she just doesn't get to consume family sized packs (which are often the only size on offer) by the use by date. She relies on common sense.

She raised a family on a very tight budget many years ago and never wasted food. She would not appreciate being called a 'twit' by someone like you.

It's a bit arrogant to assume that your way suits everyone and people who can't always use up stuff by the 'use by' date are 'twits'

I didn't say that my way suits everyone. People can do what they want regarding out of date meat and fish as long as they are the ones eating it. I was calling people who were giving me a lecture about being ridiculous and wasteful to not eat food past the "use by" date (N.B. this is not the same as best before date) twits. Firstly I don't waste food and secondly I have good reasons for wanting to avoid food poisoning so don't appreciate a lecture about about being wasteful and having common sense from people who don't know what they are talking about. I would be very angry if someone gave me meat, fish or dairy past its use by date without telling me. People can do the "sniff test" on meat or fish if they will be the ones eating it but they shouldn't give the food to others as levels of bacteria can harmful before it smells and not all of us have healthy immune systems.

whatever my elderly widowed mother often ends up with stuff lying around her fridge and cupboards because she just doesn't get to consume family sized packs (which are often the only size on offer) by the use by date. She relies on common sense.

The stuff in her cupboards doesn't have a "use by" date. It has a "best before" date which is different. It won't harm her if she eats it so she is not relying on "common sense". If she eats date meat or fish after the use by date she is risking her health because as someone else has explained levels of bacteria may be high before it smells.

Whatever you said people who couldn't organise themselves to shop for and eat food by the 'use by' date were twits. There are lots of foods that have 'use by' dates eg eggs, bread, milk that common sense will tell you whether they have gone off or not.

And I have a can of chickpeas in my cupboard right now that has a 'use by' date. It's not confined to meat and fish and dairy.

I use my senses to judge if something is off and have eaten plenty of foods that are past their dates. I know my mum does the same.
The only case of food poisoning I know of in my family is my partner who got it while on holiday abroad.

Vintagejazz - Let me clarify. The twits are people who don't organise themselves to eat food before the use by date and also give those that do lectures about common sense and not being wasteful.

Regarding eggs and bread, the ones in my kitchen have "best before" dates rather than "use by" dates.

As I understand it, even if you cook something iffy under the impression it will kill all the bacteria, you can still get food poisoning from the toxins said bacteria has already produced. This is why I am cautious about use by on meat, fish and dairy as they can be risky even without a bad smell.

Whatever There is nothng twittish about sometimes not using food by the use by date and expressing the opinion that it is wasteful to throw out food where common sense will tell you if it's gone off or not.

Upwiththelark - The point is I don't throw food out!

But you would object to other people giving you out of date food, even if they knew it wasn't gone off. So you expect other people to waste food on your behalf.

But you would object to other people giving you out of date food, even if they knew it wasn't gone off. So you expect other people to waste food on your behalf.

No I don't expect people to waste food on my behalf. They can either cook it before the use by date as I do or they can choose to eat it themselves. They have no right to risk other people's health though.

I have a cake recipe that suggests sour milk from the days when sour milk was off.

Depends what it is as to how far out of date I'll eat it

Generally, if it smells OK, it looks OK and hasn't gone green, then fair game

I am careful with stuff like chicken though.

With best before dates, it's only really a guideline. Food tastes best before that date, but I've got jars of herbs and spices in my kitchen older than my children a lot I inherited from my Mum and they went out of date in 1999 and they taste fine.

Some foods like milk can go off before their use by date in hot weather. I got milk out of the fridge this morning and it reeked inspite of having a use by date of the 8th July.

What about food without use by dates. I have picked some lovely rasperberries from my garden and there is no use by date.

I am wary of meat and use by dates. Most other foods you can tell if its OK. I am more cautious about what I feed my children and guests.

Some foods like milk can go off before their use by date in hot weather. I got milk out of the fridge this morning and it reeked inspite of having a use by date of the 8th July.

The "use by date" only applies if the food is stored properly (e.g. milk must be kept in the fridge). Fruit and veg doesn't have a "use by date" anyway. They put it on meat, fish, diary because they can cause food poisoning after the date.