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

Really don't worry too much about best before dates, but I don't go too far past use by dates, but I always have a good sniff too.

I strictly pay attention to use by dates for chicken and fish. Everything else I'm flexible on depending on look/smell/taste. Best before dates I ignore.

to paraphrase.... '(rules) and for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men'.

I hate to see food wasted, and much is still perfectly alright after the 'best before' dates stated on packing, which tend to err on the overly cautious side.
I do think it helps that we have a good fridge, that seems to keep things fresher than our old one.

There really is a lot to be said for common sense.
Obviously, be careful with meat and seafood... I always check dairy products... but if the celery's gone a bit limp it's fine to chop up in soup and stews!

We are fairly relaxed about best before dates (except bread as I have had a few reactions to bread past its best before). Use by dates are obviously something we stick to and if its not used it is either put in the freezer or in the bin if it cant be frozen.

Examine it, smell it - if it looks OK taste a little bit of it.

Best Before: I tend to use my common sense. Sight, Smell, Touch and Taste, does it seem ok? if it is then carry on.

Use By: I'm much more cautious with, and generally adhere too.

I've just eaten some apples which are nearly 3 weeks out of their 'best before' date and they tasted just fine. These dates are only a guide so I tend to go by touch and smell before eating.

If anything feels a bit soft I cook it up in a soup or hot fruit dish such as a crumble and you won't tell the difference.

i stick to use by dates but best before dates to me are just a guide , so i use my eyes, and nose to see if they look and smell ok to use. Often food is ok to eat after the best before date and ive never had any problems

I absolutely hate food waste and try my absolute best to ensure that I use everything that I buy. I always check the dates and try and get the best date on things. Having said that I do think that people are to paranoid about best before dates. I don't believe things like fruit and vegetables even need them as you can always tell when they are past there best which most of the time is far past the best before date. My favourite thing to do with fruit which is a bit past it's best is to use it in a cake or crumble as it is still absolutely deliious used this way.

Food gone past their best before dates I've always found are fine, but I'm more wary with use by dates especially if they are meat or dairy! Better to just check fruit and veg quality rather than the best before date

I try and use things before their best before date but I will use them a day or two after it

With regards to 'best before' and 'use by dates',at the age of 52 I would like to think my senses are capable of telling me whether the product is safe to use or not.Correct storage is just as important.Many perishables will stay better for longer in a larder environment.

I always make sure to check food dates before going shopping. If I have items I need to use up I will make sure to shop for ingredients so that I can use them up.

I meal plan before a big shop with a basic list of what I'm going to make. Then when the shop arrives (tend to shop online) I put meals in order based on when the ingredients expire. I freeze things that won't get used in time. I do a lot of batch cooking as well which lets me buy all my veggies in one big shop and still get them used before they go weird (don't actually check the dates on veg).
Best before I tend to ignore but they're usually so long I don't go past them anyway unless it's something I end up regretting buying in the first place!

Use by means you need to use the product by the date specified.
Best Before means the product will look/smell/taste how you'd expect it to until the specified date but after that, while it is still perfectly safe to consume, it may not taste/look/smell quite the same as you'd expect it to had you just bought it.
Generally speaking, if it look and smells ok, I'll eat it. I've always lived by this and nobody in our house has ever been ill from gone off food so I think it's a good way to do it. I think too much is wasted these days.

One of the many perks of being on a plant-based is that I don't have to worry about use by or best before dates on meat & dairy products, or the use by dates of the medications I'd have to take if I consumed those products.
For most plant-based products, if they're past the use by date, I throw them out; if they're only a few days past the best before date and the products seem fine, I still consume them.

Best before i wait till they smell funky or look funky or feel funky! or taste funky hahahaha if all of the above is ok its edible! use before i still sometimes go after the day if it looks smells tastes ok

l will sometimes use some fresh veg as l keep it all in the fridge and stays fresh for much longer but l dont think l would like to try anythink else

I go by the "Use By" date if it is meat, particularly chicken, although I tend to freeze on the day of purchase anyway and so the use by date becomes a bit irrelevant!

Best before dates I use as a guide, but generally go by the look and smell of food to see if it seems okay. I don't really pay much attention to them and would only check if the food seemed a bit off and I wanted to see how out of date it was!

I rarely look at best before dates. I'm only cautious with eggs, I'll use them in things such as cake but I wouldn't eat them alone for breakfast. Use by I'll pay attention to and I abide by the guidelines for fish and poultry but not for bacon or red meat. I always freeze food if it's on it's use by and we haven't used it. I'd rather not waste it.

I've always been a bit funny with food that's "out of date". As a young child I found a bag of potatoes filled with maggots right at the back of one of my mum's cupboards and it's scarred me for life. I won't eat anything that's past its best before or use by date. Even fruit and veg which looks perfectly fine - if it's past its best before date there's no way I'm touching it. I know it's completely silly but I just cannot bring myself to even touch food that's out of date.

On use by dates, I tend to use them a couple of days after if they've been in the back of my very cold fridge and don't show obvious signs of spoiling. However, with my husband who is on immunosuppressant medication, we're a lot more stricter because of the disastrous consequences that could occur that might just mean a day or so of discomfort for the rest of us. After the couple of days, I don't take the chance because things like harmful toxins can build up and you won't necessarily know that you're doing yourself any harm. I cite Aflatoxins in cooked rice as an example as it is believed to be an important factor in the development of liver cancer.

With best before dates, I use as a guideline but am confident eating quite a bit afterwards on the basis that I believe that they will become unpalatable of obviously gone off before it will do you any harm to eat. I think all dates are invaluable guideline.

On use by dates, I tend to use them a couple of days after if they've been in the back of my very cold fridge and don't show obvious signs of spoiling. However, with my husband who is on immunosuppressant medication, we're a lot more stricter because of the disastrous consequences that could occur that might just mean a day or so of discomfort for the rest of us. After the couple of days, I don't take the chance because things like harmful toxins can build up and you won't necessarily know that you're doing yourself any harm. I cite Aflatoxins in cooked rice as an example as it is believed to be an important factor in the development of liver cancer.

With best before dates, I use as a guideline but am confident eating quite a bit afterwards on the basis that I believe that they will become unpalatable of obviously gone off before it will do you any harm to eat. I think all dates are invaluable guideline.

I'll generally not pay too much attention to them unless it's meat - I am very paranoid about chicken! If I know something will go off before I plan to use it I try to batch cook something for lunches/freezer.

Best before dates mean nothing to me. Use by dates I stick to for meat and fish but for other things I'll look and sniff. If I have raw meat coming up to or on use by date I'll cook and then freeze if I can't use them up quickly enough.