Are we being conned by

[BrummieOnTheRun]

I used to take notice of these, but when not just ham (isn't it cured?) but cheddar CHEESE started appearing on supermarket shelves warning of imminent death if not consumed with 2 days...you've got to wonder whether it's a ploy by supermarkets to get us to chuck food out and buy more?
Or is it something to do with the gasses pumped into food packaging these days? once open, rapid deterioration?
Can anyone advise on what the real food-safety siutation is? I'm cautious about pates, but cheddar cheese???!! and does Creme Fraiche need to be used within 2 days? And Philadelphia cheese (5 days)?

Sorry - title was supposed to be "use within_dates" on food!

As DH says, "it says best before, not shite after!"

Best before means just thati.e. it will taste better if you eat it before this date.

Use By is the one to really pay attention to and even then they probably err on the side of caution.

It was only recently that I noticed that philadelphia cheese had to be used within 5 days before that I would use it maybe 4 weeks after I had opened it and it was not in the slightest bit off. But now I know I end up chucking it out when the 5 days have expired. Bananas are another one I would keep them for a couple of weeks but bought some last week and notice an expiry day of 3 days after the purchase date. I think we are being conned!

My understanding was also that "use by" was to indicate risk to health if not consumed by that date (vs "best before).

So if the labelling says "use within days of opening" it implies danger if not consumed within days.

Is cheddar cheese really dangerous if not eaten within 2 or 3 days of opening?? ditto ham. Surely not, if stored properly.

Well, if cheddar cheese is supposed to be consumed within 3 days of opening, me and most of my whole family probably shouldn't be here! I do go by the "use by" dates, but on things that are kept in the fridge (like Philadelphia, cheddar etc) I will carry on eating them until they "look" a bit dodgy! I think it's [mostly!] all a big con too!

I think that anything that has already 'gone off' ie cheese, is probably OK for a longer than it says on the pack. Anything that is very high in fat, sugar or salt ditto. I have my doubts about egg use-by-dates TBH - mum used to keep eggs from her chooks in a china chicken in the kitchen for ages before they were used - weeks sometimes. As for jam.....just bloody stupid...

But I'd be wary with anything containing meat unless it was very highly cured - salami and chorizo type stuff.

I have no doubt whatsoever that best before dates are carefully calculated to ensure maximum sales together with limitation of supermarket liability should anything go wrong.
The gases thing def applies to fruit and veg (prepared salad especially) but I don't know if it's true of any other kind of food.

The sad thing is that having relied on dates for years we are losing the body of knowledge our mothers or grandmothers would have had about what the actual signs are of food going off and what kinds of foods are dangerous. I want a book that tells me all about this kind of thing!

[science hat on - one year food preservation and spoilage microbiology research, thankyouverymuch]

We're not being conned as such, but the dates are generally set to cover the arses of manufacturers / retailers.

There are micobiological standards laid down for different types of food, and the dates ensure that if you obey them the food will always meet the standards.
Of course whether you decide to obey the dates or not is your decision, but the manufacturer has provided you with the information.
(And salads etc packed in a modified atmosphere do deteriorate faster once opened than if left sealed.)

I am cavalier about cheese, yoghurt etc and other products where high bacterial counts are mostly about spoilage - that's when taste / texture / appearance are affected eg yoghurt goes 'fizzy', or cheese grows mould - and also take liberties with the 'use within 5 days once opened' on high-sugar or -salt food like olives, jam, syrup etc.

I am much stricter on things where high bacterial counts are more to do with safety, particularly when it comes to eggs, raw meat and fish.

That's why the "use by" and "best before" definitions were helpful. You could determine whether it was a health warning or just a quality issue.

But this "use within _days of opening" thing isn't clear. Is it quality? Is it health? If we don't know, we can't make a decision.

And as nogoes says, it has been changed or introduced on a whole load of new foods very recently.

It seems a small issue, but if the food manufacturers are starting to use the ambiguity ("use within" = "use by" = "dangerous by") as a way of getting us to chuck out even MORE food (I chuck out so much anyway) then it's one of the biggest cons in consumer market at the moment.
My average shop is over £75/week, and I bet about 50% of that must be in refrigerated food that's increasinly carrying this labelling.
Right, off high horse now.

It think older people are more resourceful and use their common sense more - after all, they had to make do during the war. An Italian friend of my mother in law makes her own mock "Parmesan" by leaving a piece of cheddar unwrapped in the fridge to harden off for a month or so. She says it tastes almost like the real thing (she lives in a village where you can't easily buy such things) and has been doing this for years. I tried it once and I have to admit it was a passable substitute for the Italian cheese. I wouldn't do it now I'm pregnant though, or feed it to my 2 year old.

It think older people are more resourceful and use their common sense more - after all, they had to make do during the war. An Italian friend of my mother in law makes her own mock "Parmesan" by leaving a piece of cheddar unwrapped in the fridge to harden off for a month or so. She says it tastes almost like the real thing (she lives in a village where you can't easily buy such things) and has been doing this for years. I tried it once and I have to admit it was a passable substitute for the Italian cheese. I wouldn't do it now I'm pregnant though, or feed it to my 2 year old.

Its the same with the 'refridgerate after opening' on jams or marmalade (what? with all that sugar and it need to go in the fridge??? WTF?) or say, jars of olives - is this just advice with regards to preserving taste? Or will I really keel over with food poisoning if i keep them, (as I like to eat them) at room temperature all the time?

I tend to err on the side of common sense but then again....

It is funny that a lot of foodstuffs that exist to be kept at room temperature (jam and cheese) have to be kept refrigerated.

I waver about dates. I completely ignore them on fruit and veg, as I think my senses are much more reliable than any dates. I follow them slavishly for eggs and raw meat. I waver about everything else.

I will happily eat ketchup that has been open for years even though the label says consume with 6 weeks.

I read something in a newspaper on this once and I think the only thing you need to watch the bb date on is hummus. Everything else I just cut the mould off

Hummus???? Binkacat why?

I don't eat it if it's gone 'fizzy' but why hummus in particular?

I can't remember why - the article did say there's something in/about hummus that means it should never be eaten after its best before date.

I can't think what it was though - everything tha goes into hummus I would individually eat after best before date.

I rarely bother with dates. I just smell or taste things and make my decision from there. I really am about as cavalier as you can get about this. Eggs I have used way past there date.

same here Bozza. My mum keeps her homemade pickles and jams etc for years, all without chemical preservatives. When we make homemade pates they stay in the fridge for weeks until it is all gone. We eat soft cheeses until they are running off the table. Rarely have tummy bugs

I think there is a chemical in certain legumes and beany things like chickpeas, kidney beans etc that can be poisonous - that is why you have to be careful with houmous (sp?) and those types of foods. No scientist though so don?t quote me on it!