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

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My 6 year old can explain the difference between BB dates and use by - he was very interested recently that we bought some cheese that was Best Before and another type of cheese that was Use By and we were talking about why they might be different.

I always go by use by dates, except possibly Id go an extra day a yoghurts if they look and smell OK. Im vegetarian but my kids are not so I'm super cautious on meat and fish. Meat I generally freeze if I know I wont use it within the Use by date, then defrost overnight and cook following day.

Best before dates generally get ignored in our house although when I used to drink Diet Coke that was always horrible anywhere near the BB date, and things like crisps so seem to go soft pretty soon after the Best before.

Id like to see somewhere with better advice on how to safely freeze food and how to prepare food for freezing so it stays in best condition, also which food is nutritionally OK after freezing and which loses vitamins etc. When researching this recently I had to look on loads of websites, and there is some conflict e.g. American websites saying different timescales for freezing compared to UK (possibly as they recommend their freezers are kept at different temperatures). Anyway, it was pretty confusing to see so much contradictory advice.

I feel that unfortunately both dates have contributed towards massive food wastage, especially amongst the younger 20 somethings. My DD throws food out that's past its date (whichever one) without even looking at it, which drives me mad.

OK so some veg won't have the optimal vitamins that they might do when it's fresh, but it won't do you any harm to eat it. My DD thinks she's going to die if she eats anything that's even one day past its use by / bbf.

I won't risk fish if it's past it's use by, but I will with meat, and I just use my eyes and nose for most things. I understand that we need to have guidelines and that the 'common intelligence' (for want of a better phrase) around food is much lower than it used to be 20 years ago, but people just don't seem to be able / sufficiently confident to make their own decisions anymore.

If veg looks a bit manky for example, and a few day's past it's use by date, my DD will throw it away but I will make a soup or put it in a stew.

If bread is stale or past bbf, I will whiz it into breadcrumbs and freeze it - again, my DD will throw it away.

Fruit with a mouldy/squishy bit can be stewed or put in pies (obviously cutting out the squishy bit). Or make banana bread for example .

I'm not blaming supermarkets or the government necessarily - we do need guidelines - but we do need more education around how to make better use of the food that we have.

We mainly do the sniff test ...parents from the war ....there were never BBE OR USED BY dates then!!!!

Works for us...plus as students we both are bad bacon and suffered and that was in date but had been open too long!!!!

I use them as a guide but don't stick to them. I'm more likely to pay attention to use by dates on fresh meat and fish, but I still check by look/smell.
I rarely throw any food away - I tend to buy and use what we need each week but if anything is needing used, I either swap round meals or freeze it.

I plan all meals so food combos go together I.e i’ll Buy puff pastry to do something different with chicken. I only pay attention to use by dates in the shop so products last longer in the fridge but once home unless they smell funny or look funny they are getting cooked and eaten if it’s 1 day or a week after the sell by date. We have as little waste as possible in our house

Have to say if something has got a really long life before its best before date or use by date I'm a bit more relaxed but if it's just a few days I am quite strict on it. I do tend to be quite careful with meat and particularly fish so I always adhere to the use by dates quite strictly. I am pretty lax when it comes to yoghurts and milk though as I think you can smell when that's gone off and they're pretty conservative on their use by dates..

I mostly use my eyes and nose to decide if something is still ‘in date’ or not. I’m more wary with things like chicken, but I wouldn’t necessarily throw it out just because it’s a day or two after the use by date. I do think the dates put on fruit and vegetables are ridiculous, they are still fine to eat a long time after the supposed use by date.

I mainly use the dates to tell me which packet to open first, when I have duplicates,

I check the food and make a decision based on my knowledge.
Preserved foods like bacon and salami can go a long way over the use by date.
Cream can be used as sour cream in a sour cream type recipe or in anything cooked.

I am very careful about prawns and fresh fish of any kind.
I'm also fussy about bagged salad- but it's the smell and look rather than the date that informs me.
I'm also wary of open jars and bottles- things like ketchup, which could have hidden mould.

Using up dated items- chinese style fried rice. Pasta bake. Add cream garlic and peas to almost anything and it's delicious.

I know the difference between the two.

With best before if it looks and smells OK I'll still eat it.

Use by - I pay more attention to this date, but would still eat it a day post date especially if it was for DH and I.

I hate wasting food, so avoid throwing away food by meal planning, eating leftovers for lunch and freezing anything that I can't use in time.

I tend not to use any meat after its use by date. Veg i just squish to see if its firm. I never go by date on fruit/veg. Eggs i always do the float test. I grew up wiyh chickens so obviously these werent date stamped - if they float theyre no good. If they sink but stand on point, its nearly gone and if it sibks on side its fresh x

Also i understand use by means you should use by the date or itll be off/could make you ill. Best before means the foods tends to be at its best if eaten before the date for example crisps might be a bit stale after but wont makr you ill.

We have a best before shop near us that sell everything cheap past its best before date

I only use best before dates as a guide. Some things are still fine for ages afterwards while nuts and grains are sometimes already past their best, by then. It's probably pretty impossible to work out for certain when a nut will start to go rancid.

Use by dates, I abide by more closely, though I tend to go by appearance and smell, too. I find some supermarkets' use by dates to be more generous than others with one big store in particular that I won't even entertain yellow stickered items from because they invariably look grey and bloated, already.

Use by and best before I just ignore entirely it's a modern concept. We survived thousands of years with the need of it. By using out eyes and nose. You can tell by senses. If you think it's off but it looks okay give a smell, smell is a good indicator that's its bad. Smells alright looks okay a quick taster will do you no harm if it's tastes rancid silly don't eat it and chuck. Alot of food gets wasted because of best before and use by dates it's perfectly good food but people trust the packaging and not their own senses. Use your instincts. Pickled dried and canned food can be stored well for years if the cans packaging and seals aren't damaged or broken if they are chuck it's simple really. Trust your senses ignore best before and use by. Saves alot of food waste always check for damage.

I ignore all best before and use by dates and visually and smell inspect them before eating except meat and fish

DH sticks to dates but I tend to use my nose and eyes.

I ignore 'best before' dates and eat the food unless it tastes obviously stale.

I take 'use by' dates as a guide, but use my own judgement. I've never come to any harm eating things slightly after the use-by date but interestingly I've sometimes had food that's obviously gone off while still within its use-by date (e.g. yoghurt, sealed, in fridge - opened and had gone mouldy). There are probably too many variables for 'use by' to be an exact science.

Do you know the difference between Best before and Use by dates? yes
And which dates, if any, are you most likely to ignore?i get beyond frustrated with the best before and use by as ive found too many times they are total bs
and from having people in the industry tell me lots of the time they ate for the stores food companys to make money and keep the turn over of products.and that actually lots of product are fine way beyond there dates.
tins,chocolate fresh veg and salad.meats I find almost all of the time the dates can be changed.weve had vegetable that have gone months over the dates and not for trying and still been serious at their best when kept in a darkened coolish area on the veg rack.
but things like salad you know when its off by ight and smell and the look.same with fruit/herbs etc.also chocolate.
yoghurts will always last longer if kept in the fridge
cereals as long as they are covered and seal the bag are fine too
What foods are you most likely to bin if they’ve gone beyond their Best before date?id say fresh meats.we deff take notice of the dates on them
And, more importantly, how do you use up food that’s gone beyond its Best before date – please share with us your tips
if its veg and not looking its best we use with a stew or cooked into a meal like pies etc.
cook a meal and freeze
freeze berries and fresh veg
use fruit in crumbles or roast them in the oven
breadcrumbs which can also be frozen
bread and butter pudding for stale loaf
also for stale loaf wrip it into chunks and mix with some garlic onion herbs and crisps and use to top meat or fish
blend fresh herbs into a pesto
roast bananas with marshmellow and chocolate
add fruit to cakes.
freeze lemon and limes in slices for gin and tonic or drinks!
we buy sainsburys freezer bags and put our meat into portions and freeze
doing the same with fruit and veg
biscuits can go soft.so can cracker so we do cheesecakes bases or crumbs/crusts with the crackers.
potatos into stews or cubed and sauted to give more falvour if they are going passed tasting lovely on their own or mashed.
use bacon in scones or bolognase if its got the hardened bits round the edge from child not sealing pack!
make soup and chuck it all in if all else fails.
if we have a few packs of meat we use by date order.and plan meals accordingly

I use ‘best before’ as a guide but often ignore it. ‘Use by’ I take a little more seriously. If it was meat/fish/dairy I would probably take more notice, but we don’t have any of that. I think it’s more relevant to fresh produce. The longer the shelf life of a product, the more I’ll add on.

Use by I pay more attention to but will still use if just a day or two out and it looks and smells ok. Best before I pretty much ignore. The ones that need improving are the once open use within six weeks because its hard to remember when you opened it. But again smell and sight are the bestway to check!

I know that use by is a safety thing and best before advisory as to when it will taste best. I generally wouldn’t eat most things after a use by date (sometimes the day after) best before I would use my judgment and usually eat if didn’t appear off.

I know the difference but I don't follow the dates religiously, I wouldn't take the chance with eating meats after the use by or best before dates but I wouldn't be too bothered with anything else after the dates.

I'm quite relaxed within a day or two of the dates - tend to take more notice of the appearance/any smell. Try to freeze as much as possible before the best/use before date. It's usually veg/salad that has to be thrown as past it's best.

pork/chicken and fish really check dates and stick to them , fruit/veg other goods look/smell them.our local tesco gives left over foid to our local foodbank/village group once a week and other places other days. some times if im passing local village group i pop in had lovely tomatoes etc all out of date all perfect. so think a lot is how it is stored ,not banged about and what item actually is. common sense really .i make soup with soft veg or smoothies with soft fruit. am very aware what we can eat and only cook correct amount .very little waste in our house ,

I ignore the dates on fresh fruit and veg as I can tell for myself how good it is and am confident I know what to do to eat it once it's past its best (cut off the ugly bits, or cook it, or both).

Meat, fish and dairy go straight in the bin once past their use by/best before date.

Prepared meals usually go in the bin after their best before or use by date too, because I can't judge the condition of the food myself.

Those sauces that say to bin after 3 days/2 weeks/2 months though... I never have a clue how long I can safely use them for in reality.

I walk around and check the longest best before date before I buy and pretty much stick to that date except veg as it tends to last longer and you can tell more if it’s old. We do a weekly shop and try to use it all that week for lunches and teas rather than have to throw away food. To be fair Sainsbury’s are pretty good with there dates but you can go into Lidl and every loaf is 2 days away, it does make a difference as I wouldn’t buy it as it’s just waste. I don’t really know the difference between the 2 dates and I also get confused with freezing it how long it lasts for.