Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

Just ate a huge bowl of out of date pasta - help!

24 replies

wondering7777 · 18/02/2020 21:09

DH cooked fresh pasta with tomato sauce for dinner tonight. I ate the whole lot - a huge plateful - and then as I was chucking the packet in the recycling, I noticed it expired on 10th Feb!

It tasted fine (I think - the whole lot was covered in sauce and cheese so hard to tell) but I’m worried that it could have harmed the baby.

What do you think?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
chrestomamci · 18/02/2020 21:11

It won't have harmed baby. Worst case you'll be feeling a bit sick but I tend to find that if fresh pasta is mouldy you know when you're cooking no way he wouldn't have noticed! As long as it tastes ok you're probably fine

Togepi · 18/02/2020 21:11

If it tasted fine it's really unlikely that it's going to do you any harm. In my experience BBE are pretty conservative - prepackaged food can last way beyond the date on the side.

What ingredients did it have in it? Eg any meat, egg, fish...?

Togepi · 18/02/2020 21:12

Ah sorry - the pasta was off not the sauce? You'll be totally fine. I ate some packaged egg noodles that were a month past date recently and they smelled/tasted identical to normal.

grandmasterstitch · 18/02/2020 21:13

I'm certain there's nothing in dried pasta that could go bad once it's past it's use by date, I wouldn't worry about it at all

Original poster
wondering7777 · 18/02/2020 21:14

It was just plain linguine, which we ate with tomato sauce. It did have pasteurised egg in it!

OP posts:
grandmasterstitch · 18/02/2020 21:14

Oh I misread it was fresh pasta. I'm still sure it's absolutely fine, it's not that far past 10th

Original poster
wondering7777 · 18/02/2020 21:14

I'm certain there's nothing in dried pasta that could go bad

It was fresh pasta, not dry Sad

OP posts:
TheSandman · 18/02/2020 21:16

BBE dates are a load of bollocks.

RoomR0613 · 18/02/2020 21:17

Fresh pasta is like bread. If it's not mouldy it's fine to eat.

It wouldn't actually occur to me to check the date if it otherwise looked fine and it hadn't been lingering in the fridge for a few months.

Bol87 · 18/02/2020 21:30

Even if it was dodge, it won’t harm baby. Might make you sick. Best before dates are extremely cautious, chances are you’ll be fine!

Original poster
wondering7777 · 18/02/2020 21:32

Even if it was dodge, it won’t harm baby.

I hope so - I’m just concerned that everything you eat can pass to the baby!

OP posts:
EstebanTheMagnificent · 18/02/2020 21:57

It will be absolutely fine. In the worst case scenario you might have a bit of vomiting or diarrhoea but neither of these will hurt baby. Boiling the pasta will have killed any bacteria which might have been present. Please don’t worry.

Ingridla · 18/02/2020 21:59

Yeh I wouldn't worry, I eat stuff past it's BBE all the time, unless it's eggs chicken or fish or clearly green & mouldy or covered in spores or way past, all good

Wolfiefan · 18/02/2020 22:02

Best before is a guide. It’s not at its best after that date.
Use by is different. I wouldn’t use it after the date.

Original poster
wondering7777 · 18/02/2020 22:05

Use by is different. I wouldn’t use it after the date.

Well it’s a bit late now isn’t it!! Sad

Found this online which has reassured me somewhat:

Fresh spaghetti Is it safe to keep it longer? Yes - for up to a week. Fresh pasta can have a shelf life of up to month, so eating it a few days after the 'use by' date is unlikely to jeopardise health. But keep the pasta sealed. Even when pasta does deteriorate, it's largely spoilage and not a safety problem. Meat-filled pasta has a more risky microbiological profile.

OP posts:
Potatobug · 18/02/2020 22:11

You’ll be fine but just in case you die let us know here with a quick message.

Wolfiefan · 18/02/2020 22:28

It’s not meat or fish. It’s a BB not a use by surely.

Original poster
wondering7777 · 18/02/2020 22:54

It’s not meat or fish. It’s a BB not a use by surely.

Nope - it was definitely a use by.

OP posts:
EstebanTheMagnificent · 18/02/2020 22:56

If you haven’t had any vomiting or diarrhoea by now then it is absolutely fine. Have you been experiencing anxiety during your pregnancy?

KellyHall · 18/02/2020 22:59

If it wasn't mouldy, didn't taste weird, and the egg in it was pasturised, I'm sure it's fine. Use by dates have to be generous, I rarely pay attention to them.

Doyoumind · 18/02/2020 23:01

Food can't harm the baby if it's not harming you, unless it's something like swordfish.

If you get food poisoning when you are pregnant it can be a risk to the pregnancy.

BUT you won't get food poisoning from fresh pasta that is a few days past the use by date. No way.

MelAndShoe · 18/02/2020 23:02

Will be ok

Original poster
wondering7777 · 18/02/2020 23:14

Thanks all. It was totally sealed in the packet too, which surely must be a good thing.

Have you been experiencing anxiety during your pregnancy?

Yes I have been quite anxious...

OP posts:
squee123 · 19/02/2020 13:22

I have always ignored use by dates on actual eggs and gone by whether they are actually off and it didn't even occur to me to stop when pregnant Blush I've eaten plenty of eggs well past their apparent use by dates with no ill effects on me or baby, so I'm sure pasta with a little egg in will be totally fine

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread