AIBU : Govt. guidance required on Use By and Best Before dates

[Usecoooomonsnse]

First time starting a thread : please be patient.
But I was thinking about this and given all the panic buying worried that a lot of good food might go to waste if people stuck to the Use By and Best before dates.

I have name changed for this. This is from own personal experience of using items that in a couple of instances have been 6 months past their bb date.

I am not saying every single item can used past the dates but if people were just a bit pragmatic it would help them and others.

I give you some examples of what I have used and if others could share their experiences it would be good.

I shop at Costco and like it or not it is easy to bulk by without thinking about it. The items I mention are not bulk buys though.

Last year in Aug I had some family staying over the holidays and I bought the 4x4 pack semi cooked French Baguettes bb date 24/08/19. For reasons I can’t recall I didn’t use them. I have since used them one pack at a time in Nov/Dec/Jan and hand on heart no adverse effect. I have sliced and turned them into garlic breads and mini cheese toasts for my children.

I have one pack left and will use it when I run out of regular bread and can’t get more. I have used eggs (again thought nothing of buying 3x24 packs in Costco when I could) past their bb dates for a month or two easily.

I will attach pictures to show what I still have in stock and will continue to use them as long they look and smell ok.

I have used other items as and when after checking them thoroughly. I vaguely recall a TV programme many years ago where they did a test on a tinned item from the 1940s which was perfectly edible 60 years later.

Again not advocating everything can be consumed but if you have bulk bought items with a short shelf life please for the love humanity don’t discard it without giving it a once over.

Thanks for your patience if you got to the end of the thread. Stay well and safe y’all.

Pictures here

And here

I tend to use bread until it has mould on, and do the sniff test for eggs and meat. I find milk usually has gone off by the time it says it will, but again take a bit of a whiff. Not scientific and possibly dangerous, but I do agree that a level of self judgement is helpful to avoid loads of food wastage.

Of course use buy dates are largely a nonsense. Most of them do not mean the food is unsafe. We have more important things to worry about

Good point. Eggs last for months. Some public service information would reduce waste.

The first type of baguette is use by date 24/08/19. The second one was from a set of 4 with use by date 29/11/2019. Eggs - date is clearly visible. Bought them in mid-Feb still using them as and when.

Please don’t waste perfectly good food. Thanks.

If it helps

www.theguardian.com/food/2019/apr/17/the-truth-about-expired-food-how-best-before-dates-create-a-waste-mountain