Massively out of date panko- have I ruined my fish cakes?

[tinytops]

Just used a precious toddler nap to make huge batch of salmon fish cakes to freeze. Coated them in panko breadcrumbs. All looked fine but when cleaning up saw that the best before was Oct 2012! Can someone reassure me that they will be fine and I don't need to chuck them (because I might cry if so)?

[TywysogesGymraeg]

It's "best before", not "eat by". They'll be fine. It's only bread + a few preservatives.

[sanquhar]

unless they had obvious mould on them i would've used them.

the heat when you fry them will kill any bacteria.

[SunnyBaudelaire]

they will be fine if they looked OK and were stored in a dry place.

[tinytops]

Those were the answers I was looking for- thanks all!