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

[EllieMumsnet]

This activity is closed

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 usually smell test it if its on the best before date or day after....especially for meats and fish.

I ignore best befores in general. I tend to only be strict with dates on meat and dairy

I don’t stick rigidly to use by/best by dates but try to use meat/fish by the use by date. I am more flexible with fruit/veg/tins/etc.
If I have missed a date with near/fish I usually smell it and if it smells pknill still use it (and give it a better long in cooking time!)

I don't pay strict attention to best before dates, I use them more as a guide that the quality of a product may be decreasing, so am more likely to check it for freshness. Appearance, touch, smell etc.

I know things don't go bad at exactly 12midnight, but I almost always throw out food that is past the used by date. A recent exception I can think of is ham that was one day over, that I smelt and looked at then decided to use. It tasted fine and didn't make me ill, but I would only do this about twice a year maybe with bread also never with Dairy.

Best before I wouldn't even use a guidance. It just means that it is at its best quality before the date.
Use by I stick to. If it's meat I would smell it even if it was before its use by date. Also if it's gone off before that date I can take it back to the supermarket and get a refund. I'm especially careful with mince because the meat is heated slightly during the mincing process. This means it has a head start producing bacteria.

BBE dates I only use as a guide (e.g. If I am meal planning to give an idea of when it might be best to eat it), but other than that I will just go by sight/smell.

Most meat I will eat a day or two past it's use by, depending on what it is and how it will be cooked - for example braising steak that will be cooked at a high temperature for a long time I am not too worried about use by dates as long as it still looks and smells OK. Things that are smoked or preserved in some way I am fairly laid back.

Dairy I tend to go by look/smell and will eat way past date on things like yogurts.

Eggs if they sink in water I use, but less drag eggs I make sure they will be in something that is well cooked.

Fish is best at its freshest anyway, so try to avoid getting to its use by date.

I'm actually most cautious about ready-prepared food like salads, houmous etc but even then I will go a day over use by if it has been well stored and looks fresh.

In our family we say that the dates are seen as a challenge to my sister.

I meal plan then order my shopping online. As soon as it's delivered, I compare the use by dates with the menu plan, and freeze the ingredient if necessary (or switch the meal plan if the ingredient is unfreezable).
I'm quite relaxed about best before dates - a few days or more doesn't bother me.

These dates annoy me because my children think it's awful if they have to eat something past the date. I use common sense and think it's awful to throw food away which is perfectly edible when some people don't have enough to eat. I look, smell and use up until I feel it's safe.. don't remember being unwell ever! I am most fussy about prawns, pork etc

I tend your use the dates as a guide and rely more on smelling the product especially if it’s meat. Dried and tinned food I keep past their best before dates

I tend your use the dates as a guide and rely more on smelling the product especially if it’s meat. Dried and tinned food I keep past their best before dates

I tend your use the dates as a guide and rely more on smelling the product especially if it’s meat. Dried and tinned food I keep past their best before dates

Mum's cheese straws made with my 2 year out of date cheese were bloody amazing

I tend to use common sense and use my eyes and nose with most things. There are things that I would consume myself but not serve to others, eg yoghurt (single pot, not larger pot already opened, or ham, eggs etc. I will say, though, that there is a huge difference of opinion on this between different age groups in our home. The younger contingent frequently confer and laugh at my expense "she's eating mouldy food again!"

I use the dates as a guide but tend to smell the product. I use common sense! I will not throw something away if it looks and smells fine - I hate wasting food! ..... I just don't tell my other half lol

I generally ignore BB dates as its unlikely that something will just go stale from one day to the next.
Fruit and veg -examine ,sniff etc.
Meat and fish- I usually buy frozen fish .
Meat from the farm shop so no use by date .
Mostly use common sense !

From what I understand, a Best before date is just a guideline to freshness, and it won't kill you to eat an item which has gone past this date. A Use by date is stricter, more prescriptive. Bacterial growth on an item that has gone past its use by date is likely, even if the item looks okay.

However, I usually ignore the Best Before date and sniff to test and also observe texture and colour. I do this even with Use by Date products. When it comes to my 7 year old however, I don't take a chance. I might eat items that are past their sell by dates, but no way would I give it to my child.
The food I'm most likely to bin are yogurts,cream cheese and meat, and nuts as I read somewhere that nuts can turn rancid when they've been kept too long.

Using up food that's gone past its Best before date is easy if you have a slow cooker. I just cut the slimy bits off vegetables and chuck them in the slow cooker to make soup or stew. Bananas are great for banana cake, apples make a great sauce for pork, stale bread is perfect for bread pudding.

When it comes to food storage, I always put fresh meat on the bottom shelf of the fridge and I'm particularly fussy about cooked rice. I let the rice cool completely, then put it covered in the fridge within 2 hours of cooking. Nothing beats an egg fried rice made from leftover cold rice!
Before I go food shopping, I always check my cupboards and fridge to see what I have; I do a regular stock take. This ensures that I don't buy in excess of what I need, so I don't have to throw away food.

I only really pay attention to meat and egg use by dates, everything else I go by look and smell.
However if i find a cupboard ingredient that's out by more than 6 months I probably won't use it.

I generally tend to ignore best before dates.

I do look at use by dates but if the meat still smells fresh and has no sign of going off, I tend to still use it.

Haven't poisoned anyone yet

I'm careful with meat and dairy best before/use by dates.

Use by is more important than best before. I go over both but with UB I only go over by a day or two and carefully check whereas I pay little attention to B.B. aside from for cupboard stock rotation.

I use my eyes and my nose. For most things, even "use by" dates seem to err on the side of caution. Chicken and fish are the only things I'm really wary about, I wouldn't keep them more than a day over even if they smelled okay.

Fruit and veg often keep way longer than indicated - or they can be used in things eg veg soup, banana crumble. Some meat e.g. beef, venison, seems to keep a long while - some beef is sold as "21 days matured" so another couple of days probably won't do me any harm.

'Best before' to me means that the item of food may taste/look better before the date specified, but is perfectly safe to consume after the date. However, I have to admit I'm very fussy and try to adhere to the date. I think the item might have deteriorated in quality and end up binning it.

'Use By' to me means that the item must be consumed before or on the date stated on the label.

I ignore "best before" dates and use my own judgement

I am very careful with "use by" dates though, especially with meat and fish! I try and avoid buying anything with a use by date of less than 3 days, as it won't be that "fresh"

I think use by is essential for health and best before is a loose recommendation up for your own common sense investigation! I made dumplings with flour with a best before a year ago last week and they were absolutely lovely. I think a lot of flours/dried herbs/spices are good well after their best before dates