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 don't stick to either date, although I am more careful with use by dates. If, for example, something is dated the 16th, and it's the 17th, I know it will be fine (I sniff and visually check it, though) as I am sure my tub of humus doesn't think "Oh, it's past midnight, I'm off!"

Personally,I love the reduced to clear section in the supermarket. It's a great way to try new foods and also a way to fill the freezer with meat that you may not otherwise be able to afford. Our freezer is currently bulging with stuff we stocked up with over the festive / new year period, where the supermarkets overstocked!

I largely ignore all dates on food (within parameters) I certainly don’t throw out just based on this (hubby does). I hate waste and find best before use bus etc pointless for a lot of products like fruit and veg. I understand why they are used but still find them pointless

I never use anything past the use by date. I do often use things before the best before date and that is just down to common sense, looking, smelling and tasting to see if it's going to be edible. We plan our meals in advance to try and avoid wasting anything.

I always follow use by dates but with best before I'm more relaxed especially with veg and the like if it's in the fridge

I remember its a guide not available in the past, ............ what happened then ???????
I use the BEST BEFORE, no problem as it means you only lose flavour and looks, but they are OK to eat with no harm to health.
USE BY, I'm more careful. It does depend how the food has been stored, is it in my car boot for a few hours not in a chill bag? has the packaging been split? is it a high risk food, like prawns, meat, ..........

Also I tend to cook the food at a high temperature in the oven, long enough to ensure its properly cooked. If in doubt bin !!!!!!

I don't stick to use by or best before, I will use them as a guide really. My parents never had use by or best before, I look, smell and touch.

Yes definitely know the difference between Best before and Use by.

Best before is most definitely ignored, as I regularly purchase food and drink from Approved Foods to help keep food and drink costs down. Sometimes items do loose a part of their flavour over time but that's about it.
Use by i definitely ignore on fruit and vegetables, in fact I don't know if they have use by or best before as I just base on appearance, texture and smell. Definitely more cautious regarding meat and fish but again do sniff test as food does not know it's midnight, so if it was okay then, it's very likely to be okay in the morning. Lots of foods I freeze on their use by date and if I really don't have the freezer space I'll cook immediately as that adds three whole new days on to meat and fish. (Used to work as a Chef). Dairy is again sniffed. Milk and cream often stay absolutely fine past their use by date. Yoghurts, sour cream and cheese again check but often eat. Soft cheese like Brie very careful with though. Does help to have a fridge that keeps things at the correct temperature.

As stated above I purposefully purchase food past best before, so have absolutely no qualms about using it up as normal. Do store food well though in resealable kilner jars, tubs and packaging so probably helps with longevity.

Freeze items. I also after buying meat and fish, put it into freezer bags in portion sizes. It means we only ever get out what we need for each meal. Plus you can store a hell of a lot more in any freezer this way. Packaging is just ridiculously large and unnecessary. Then dinner leftovers go into freezeable tubs e.g. 'tupperwere' in portion sizes (individual or two) and frozen. Easy homemade dinners another week.

Sorry that was an essay!

Good for guidance but I trust my nose and eyes the most

I don't pay a lot of attention to use/best before dates. common sense tells if the food is off. the only thing I am cautious about if fish and chicken

Just had to put a pack of chicken thighs outside as smell so bad! I was gagging and found 3 joss sticks for in kitchen
They were 2 days before their use by date
I usually only buy meat for today and next day so annoyed at myself.

I rarely take any notice of use by dates, and almost certainly never of best before dates.
As I understand it, use by is for shorter shelf life stuff such as chilled goods, and means the item should be used by that date and can't be guaranteed to be edible after that. Best before is a guideline usually used on stuff with a longer shelf life such as frozen foods, biscuits, etc etc.

I pretty much ignore best before dates. I have used things like store-cupboard sponge puddings that were 6 months beyond their best before date and they were perfectly fine.
I don't bin food simply because it has passed its use by date. But I will bin it if it has obviously gone off or is looking a bit the worse for wear.

Best before says to me that it is an indication of when something will taste 'best' - some flavours may deteriorate after this date, but it doesn't mean you can't eat it. I ate a pot of something out of the cupboard last week that was best before May 2017 - I haven't died yet!
I pay more attention to use by dates but again, I will use my common sense and smell & taste things. If it smells or tastes 'off' then it's a no. Years ago, before we had all this packaging and dates that's how we'd have decided on food.
And actually, I've bought meat from the supermarket before now and gone to use it 2 days before it's date and it's already gone bad and stunk to high heaven. Just because the packaging said it was good to use didn't mean that it was!

With fresh food I am very aware of sell by dates but with tinned and packet food I think they are still edible for months after the date.

For use by dates I use my common sense. The morning after an unopened packet of bacon has gone past its Use By Date is perfectly fine to eat as long as it smells ok and doesn't show signs of ruin. It's just a date stamped by a machine. The food doesn't know that it is now supposed to be off and inedible.

For best before dates I just carry on using them until they are obviously beyond saving. I will always test old eggs to see if they are stale and will give milk a swig test to see if it is sour. Fruit and veg shouldn't have dates on them - people should use their eyes and common sense.

Most veg that is a little battered or soft can be added to a stew or soup or grated into a bolognaise sauce. Meat on its last day can either be frozen until needed or cooked and stored for a few more days in the fridge.

Some foods I would use after the 'best before' date if they look OK - I think it can be the supermarkets being over cautious. But I wouldn't risk it with meat, seafood etc. I tend to stick to dates when it's 'use before' though.

Use your common sense with these dates. They are there for a reason. Dairy products be careful I smell them but to be very safe use by date is my option. Best before can really be taken as a guideline say biscuits or crisps or dried food etc

I pretty much ignore best before dates and just see them as a guide for the quality of the product. When it comes to use by dates whilst I don't ignore them I use my common sense and tend to look and smell the product before deciding whether it needs to be thrown away.

Basically, use your common sense. If it is fruit or veg then a date doesnt matter, just look at it! For dairy I would say give it a sniff, for meat and poultry Im a little more careful, but still use your common sense, if the use by date was yesterday then it will probably be ok, give it a sniff!! Bakery goods are fine until mold is visible, then the birds can have it! Remember, use by means use by that date, best before means it will be at its best before that date but still ok after that date.

I never use meat or seafood or dairy (apart from butter) past its use by date. My husband treats the best before date like a use by date but I don't - I am happy to eat bread and fruit and non meat/dairy items past their best before date as long as they look okay. I will even eat bread many days past it's best before date as long as it isn't visibly off, ie showing mould! In the supermarket I will actively look for foods with a longer best before date if it's something that will go off quickly, like fresh spinach.

If it's meat or dairy products I will not use after use by date. Fruit and veg I always use untill it no longer smells right. Best be for date I always use after the only thing normally effected is might not taste as great but it won't cause you any harm

I tray used by and best before dates similarly but wouldbe stricter in not using something that has passed the used by date.
I wpuld be more relaxed with items like dried pasta and crisps, biscuits and similar dried food. But i will eat any milk, cheese, yoghurt or meat that os passed either date ever. When shopping i always look for items woth the longest dates and try and make sure i use things up on time but will throw food away if it goes past the date which i do feel bad about.

God the rows I listened to my mom and dad have over this.... He was adamant that everything was fine, use by, best before was irrelevant. Mom was adamant nothing past its date would be staying in her fridge/cupboards. He'd come home from work and search for something in the fridge only to find it had been put in the bin because 'it will be out of date tomorrow'.
I'm quite happy to eat anything (I am pescitarian) as long as it looks ok, the only thing I'd flatly refuse if it was after its best before date or smelt remotely off would be milk!

I'll give milk a sniff and decide whether to use it or not, and fruit and veg I go on look/feel. We don't eat meat/fish so there's not much I really worry about.

I am trying to get better at cooking things like veg which is nearing its end and turning it into soup or other meals and freezing it to use later.

Use by dates I tend to check the food carefully but still use it if it seems ok.
Best before I take little notice of

I usually stick by used by dates, although if it's meat Ill happily cook it on the use by and then store it cooked. Best before dates I completely ignore