Help! Thread for advice on "out of date" store cupboard food which may still be usable

[Graphista]

Checked stocks yesterday so I knew what I have in and what I may need to try and get.

Thinking this may be useful info for others too who are possibly needing to use old stock up at this time.

So food safety people/experienced cooks can you please advise?

I have:

liquid sachet stir fry sauce dated aug 2019

Honey - opened, looks a little grainy, may 2019

Cartons of Passata dated jun and Dec 2019

Dried pasta one open dated aug 2019 one closed dated aug 2019

Bisto veggie gravy, granules loose dated feb 2020

Jar of pickled gherkins dated May 2019

Tins:

Baked beans n veggie sausages jan 2020

Various soups all veggie some creamy types which I'm wary of dates are: aug 2019, Oct 2019, Dec 2019 jan 2020

Would really appreciate guidance on this.

Don't want to throw out usable food but also don't want to risk an upset stomach.

If they say best before rather than use by then texture/quality may deteriorate but they should still be safe to eat

Keep in mind these are probably best by dates rather than best before dates as on fresh produce. Canned goods you can generally tack on 3yrs of the best by date if they've been kept in a cool dark place and are not dented.

Anything with a good amount of sugar and/or vinegar in it will still be good, well past the best by date. Dried goods don't really spoil just deteriorate over time, I'd have no issue eating the opened pasta.

Gravy granules are freeze dried (I think) so can be kept forever pretty much but it may clump together a bit more than usual once opened.

Honey, I'd watch out with, it's probably still good but check for any mould on the surface. As long as the lid has been on and secure it probably shouldn't be an issue.

If anything's fizzy when opening, pungent or overly sour (when not supposed to be sour) then toss it out.

Use by is normally on fresh goods
Best before is normally on canned and dry foods

Best before means that quality can suffer after that date but it's not dangerous to eat

www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/best-before-and-use-by-dates

All that food will be completely fine to eat.

"Canned goods you can generally tack on 3yrs of the best by date if they've been kept in a cool dark place and are not dented." Yes I thought I read that somewhere but tried googling and couldn't find anything clear/definitive.

I'm quite wary of the honey - which is annoying as it's barely used! I like honey but stupidly stuck it at the back and forgot about it! Next time I buy I'll keep at front and label opening date - can honey go in fridge?

I knew "best before" more about quality and I am not overly cautious eg if a tin has a date within last month I'll normally use without batting an eyelid.

What about the stir fry sauce? Plastic/foil sachet.

Thanks all.

As I say I'm hoping this thread of use to others too.

Could you use the honey in a cooked recipe and then you wouldn't need to worry about its age

Honey should be kept out of the fridge. I think its the cooler temperature that makes it crystallise

I didn't think honey could be refrigerated. I stored in the cupboard but it's in a squeezy plastic bottle so doesn't feel as if it will be safe.

It will be grainy due to crystallisation. It will not be unsafe

Honey is mostly sugar. Sugar is a preservative. I wouldn't worry about any of that food. If in doubt, cook it rather than eat straight from packaging. You could make a cake with the honey, for example.

www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-science-behind-honeys-eternal-shelf-life-1218690/

Link for honey. All your items sound fine. But a warning to everybody, tins that are dented or even worse bulging are dangerous.

If you warm crystallised honey up it will be runny again. All of those foods will be absolutely fine to eat

I only worry about dates on meat. I would eat all those

I wouldn't hesitate to eat any of those, OP. They will be perfectly safe.

Thanks for the reassurance everyone

Why would you worry about the honey - it’s literally the safest of all the things you’ve listed

Yesterday I cooked and ate some dried pasta which was 5 years out of date and I’m fine. I will tackle the 10 years out of date cocoa flavoured dried tagliatelle at some point probably when I make a beef stroganoff . The only thing I wouldn’t eat is out of date tinned food due to the high botulism risk