Mumsnet users talk Best before and Use by Dates with Sainsbury’s

[EllieMumsnet]

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The team at Sainsbury’s would love to hear your thoughts on Best before and Use by dates for food and drinks. Do you know the difference between Best before and Use by dates? And which dates, if any, are you most likely to ignore? What foods are you most likely to bin if they’ve gone beyond their Best before date? And, more importantly, how do you use up food that’s gone beyond its Best before date – please share with us your tips! What food storage ‘rules’ do you tend to follow? And finally, how do you ensure you don’t have to throw away food?

Sainsbury’s says “We know there’s often lots of confusion around Best before and Use by dates, as well as how food should be stored properly to avoid it going to waste. So we want to hear your tips and tricks to avoid food going in the bin unnecessarily.”

Add your comment, tips and views to this thread and you will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will get a £300 Sainsbury’s voucher.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T and Cs apply

I'm a blatant ignorer of dates!
I use my senses and common sense - it it looks bad or smells bad - it's bad
If it looks good, smells good and tastes good, then I happy to use it
We've just finished a bottle of milk dated Dec. 28th - it smelt fine, tasted fine, so no point in wasting it
If food is on the turn, I try and use it up - fruit in smoothies, cakes or jam
Veg - casseroles or soups
Meat and fish - if it smells bad, looks bad, it's straight in the bin
I don't re-heat rice - to many bugs and bacteria
If meat is fresher and after being thoroughly cooked, there is some left over and we are not going to use it, I'll wait until it's cold and bag it, tag it and freeze it ready for another day
Soft fruit I keep in the fridge, I also keep carrots, broccoli and cauliflower in the fridge, as well as all salad food
Eggs - keep on the side in a basket
Potatoes - keep in a cloth bag in the garage

I'm happy to buy yellow label food and if it's meat, I'll use that to stock my freezer

I appreciate I am fortunate to have all 5 senses - I have a friend who has lost her sense of smell and taste, so she does rely on the product dates

I’m careful with meat, perhaps 1 day over but do feel funny about it.

Eggs I stick in some water and see where it ends up (queen Delia)

Veg - eat it, make soup, or stick in freezer for next time we have a chicken that will be made into stock, and add all the veg too.

I ignore dates on fruit and veg and just go by appearance. I am too scared to ignore it when it comes to meat though and it makes me sad and ashamed when I throw things away because they’re out of date. Really do hate wasting food!

I am more cautious of dates on meat, fish and dairy products but other than that use common sense!

I'm happy to eat best before foods past there dates but make sure things like chicken are used by there use by date or frozen. My daughter (8years) at one point refused to eat anything past its best before date so we had a discussion about the dates and what they mean, she understands more now and will happily eat things past best before so it prevents waste

Use my own judgement for most part. I waste more food than I would like but not because of use by/best before dates. Just because I didn't use the food when I thought I would. I need to be more mindful of this. I do find Sainsburys the only supermarket where fruit/veg lasts much longer than the displayed date so I buy certain items there although not as much as I used to due to steep price hikes. A chicken breast jumped from a quid to 1.45 - I use Lidl for local meat now.

Best before dates, I ignore, and use my common sense, I go by taste/smell/texture. Use by dates, I double check, again smell and how it looks, though psychologically my brain tells me I will be I'll if I eat out of date meat, so I won't use it. Eggs I check dates when I buy, but once in the house, I just use when I feel like it, and have never had an off one yet. There does seem to be a awful lot of confusion with use by/sell by dates, I'd suggest putting a few signs up explaining, but people wouldn't necessarily read them

I pay no attention to either date. Fruit/veg, dairy and bread can all be inspected to see if ok to eat or not before eating. If fruit/veg has started to go mushy, I will use up in soups or smoothies as appropriate and I will discard if anything growing on/in any food item.

I completely ignore best before dates but I do make sure once cans/jars etc are opened, the contents are consumed within 48 hours and are stored in the fridge.

I should add that we are a meat free household (otherwise I probably would be more cautious with meat) and we don't buy any pre-prepared food (likewise I would be more cautious with food that has already been cooked and subsequently purchased)

Just to add to my last post - one way I look at it is that I usually make humous/dips at home and same with bread. They don't come with a date written on - I use judgement so same should apply to most things I buy

I don't think that fruit and vegetables should come with dates because it's fairly obvious when they are past their best and I think about less would go to waste if they didn't have dates on them

I stick to use by for dairy and don't eat fish or meat or would stick to it for them too, everything else I use common sense, sight and smell.

I always make sure things are stored in date order to make it easier to make sure things are used on time

Best before dates I'll use my common sense and use it if it's in my cupboard already. I wouldn't pay full price for something past best before, but would if it's reduced accordingly.

Use by dates I take a little more seriously, but generally go on principle that food doesn't alter it's safety on the stroke of midnight and go by smell, texture. Chicken I'm much more careful with.

I see "use by" as an instruction and "best by" as merely advice, and treat them accordingly.

If something contains rice or meat, then I usually abide by the use by dates. If it doesn't, and it smells OK, then I will probably eat it.

Things like sliced bread I just cut the crusts off and toast it, if it's on the turn... Tins I don't care about the dates at all, unless they are blown or damaged.

I freeze stuff that can be frozen if it’s close to the useby date,
Then best before I generally see if it looks and smells good.
I used to wonder if use By was use by the end of that day or use before that day began.

Both dates have to be the absolute earliest date it could go off. So i consider them a guideline.

I'm totally un cautious! Except for with meat and salad- even then I smell it and make my own judgement. I grew up in a house that didn't take much notice of them either- if our yoghurts tasted fizzy we didn't eat eat any more!

As I can't afford to throw away any shopping we always find the bread and milk along with other perishable items with the longest use by date on so throwing them away isn't a possibility I am careful with anything out of date if it has changed colour gone smelly or grown mould on it bit if it hasn't changed in colour, appearance or smell we still use it. I freeze things following the guidelines but sometimes things are in the freezer a bit longer and we haven't been affected by them...yet ! I stick a date on which shows when items were put in my freezer so I know and older items are moved forward when new shopping is frozen so it isn't wasted

I don't pay much attention to either - I'll eat canned and dry goods up to a year past their BB or UB date. I eat reduced price bread which lasts a week past its BB date, and with meat I think its fine a couple of days after the UB date. Fish, however, needs to be fresh and I won't even buy it if it seems a couple of days old, never mind near its BB or UB date.

I am older and also remember the time when you supermarkets did not sell meat fish and vegetables they where like bigger self help grocers. meet and came from butcher fish from Mongers.. no dates then. So I look at the date and assess the food if it is just over by 1-2 days I will often still feel it is safe. But dependant on the produce (shell fish and fresh tuna, cooked rice are all things I will not risk) other meats and fish I carefully check using all my senses, smell texture colour. Best before is the chance to pick up some great bargains, as long as you use them in a reasonable time.

Sorry Meat not meet

Meat and fish are the only products that I pay attention to in terms of use by or best before dates. I will always use my own judgement too though, just now I had a look at a ready meal in my fridge with a piece of salmon in it; it's dated best before today, but the fish is an odd colour and I am going to smell it and look closer before i consider eating it, and will probably bin it. Annoyingly...

My partner adheres rigorously to best before and use by dates, which I find odd; if it's a ton of chopped tomatoes how can a few days possibly matter?! I am much more likely to trust my eyes and nose.

My gran goes a little too far though...the milk chocolate from 2012 had gone grey...

Tin not ton!