I’ve eaten out of date smoked fish - have I given myself food poisoning

[outofofficeagain]

Had some smoked mackerel in the fridge for lunch. It was unopened- however after I ate it realised it was 6 days out of date!

Am I doomed?

Sending prayers.

Smoked? Fully? Nah you should be fine. I’ve eaten smoked salmon that was way more past the date than that and was no problem at all.

Smoking fish helped to keep food going for weeks on trawler boats out at sea. (They smoked it on land and then packed it obviously. No one wants a fire on a boat). Many generations of Scottish fishermen can’t be wrong.

Well you’re about to find out in the next 30 minutes! Good luck!

You would have noticed if it was off. Rotten fish absolutely stinks.

Smoking food is a way of preserving it. You'll be fine.

It tasted fine to be honest. I should not have googled, which has obviously predicted certain death.

I ate it at midday

I’m also hoping M&S is generous with its use by dates.

I think that everything in my lunch today was a day or two past 'use by' dates - I've died three times this afternoon already...

If it was off it would REEK, fish conveniently stinks like ammonia mixed with the farts of a thousand diarrhetic dogs when it's no good.

You'll be fine, smoked food lasts for ages after the date.

It tasted fine and you aren't ill yet, so likely to be fine.

Smoking is a way of preserving, if it was an unopened packet and been kept in a decent fridge then I'd assume it was fine. I'd probably have sniffed and willingly eaten it even seeing the date.

How was the texture? Smoked mackerel ime always goes a bit slimy when it’s off.

Thank you everyone 🙏. I feel better already.

And it will be both smoked AND vacuum packed.

I think you’d know immediately. I got food poisoning once from tuna and it was coming out of both ends before I’d even left the restaurant.

Except a lot of 'smoked' things these days are not smoked they are imbued with smoke flavour and a bit of yellow dye added for effect. But probably fine if unopened in the fridge, often they are air tight shrink sealed.

Bit of history here....

Voice of people: Oi! Food manufacturers. We keep getting ill because you sell us old stock!

Government: They have a point. How about we make you put a date on it, like when it should be eaten by?

Food manufacturers: What? The processes! The packaging! The audit trail! It'll cost us a fortune! This is going to put prices up.

Voice of people: We don't want prices going up.

Government: Well, you do want safe food, so you'll have to pay a bit more.

Food manufacturers (amongst themselves, giggling): Fucking brilliant. We can get them to chuck everything away every week and buy it again. Hey, pull in that date a couple of days.

Shareholders: Whoo, the profits! Honestly, it's like scooping the stuff up in buckets off the pavement.

Voice of people: This smoked mackerel smells alright, but....ooh, not sure.

So true - I am very relaxed about food dates, not least because I lived in a very remote location abroad for four years where almost everything was out of date because it was only delivered monthly on a boat!