Ask the Food Standards Agency experts your questions about use by dates - £200 voucher to be won

[LucyBMumsnet]

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We’ve all been there. You’re rummaging in the fridge for something to eat and right at the back you discover something that you forgot you bought. On closer inspection, the use by date has passed by a few days but you decide to eat it as it looks and smells fine and you’d rather not let it go to waste. However, use by dates are the best indicators of whether food is safe to eat or not, so it’s important to stop and consider if we’re putting ourselves at risk of feeling unwell.

Whether you’d like to know the difference between a best before date and a use by date, how to make safer decisions when deciphering food labelling terms, or whether consequences of ignoring the dates on the pack will affect the quality of your food or how well you feel, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) experts will be online on 24th March to answer your questions.

Here’s what the Food Standards Agency has to say: “Last year, our Covid-19 Consumer Tracker* highlighted that more people are eating food after its ‘use-by’ date, particularly families and those aged over 65 years old. It’s important to understand that different products can undergo different manufacturing processes and this can affect how perishable they are. For example, yoghurts may have a use-by date or best before date, so it is important to always follow the manufacturer’s advice. It is safe for people to eat food after its best before date, but a use-by date is a safety marker, eating food after this date can cause food poisoning.”

Want to know who will be responding to your questions and comments? Find out more about the Food Standards Agency’s experts below:

Narriman Looch - Head of Foodborne Disease Control Branch at the FSA
Narriman Looch is the Head of Animal Feed and Foodborne Disease Control Branch at the FSA. She leads the team responsible for developing policy in response to rises in human cases of foodborne illness, this includes developing guidance and advice for consumers.

Robin May - Chief Scientific Adviser at the FSA
Robin May is the Food Standards Agency’s Chief Scientific Adviser and a Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham. As the FSA’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Robin provides expert scientific advice to the UK government and plays a critical role in helping to understand how scientific developments will shape the work of the FSA.

Helen White - Special Advisor, Household Food Waste, WRAP
Helen works with food retailers, manufacturers and brands on engaging with citizens to reduce food waste and is WRAP’s spokesperson on household food waste-related matters. She has played a key role in defining WRAP’s approach to citizen food waste prevention and the development of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign.

All who post a question on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £200 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

^*www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/news/covid-19-consumer-tracker-waves-three-and-four-report-published^

What would you advice be on buying the reduced items in a supermarket - when they have to be used on that date, I sometimes see minced meat which is grey looking but within date, as opposed to the red looking 'in date' mince, and am put off buying it, I am not sure it's perfectly edible, what are your views on these items ?

If you freeze something on its use by date how quickly do you need to eat it?

What food would you eat past its use by date and what food would you avoid?

can you still take vitamins and supplements beyond their use by date?

Should we be more mindful not to eat anything close to the use by date just incase?

'Close'? A day? Two days? A week? A Month?

By that logic we shouldn't eat anything 'near' the use-by date. Just the use by date, minus a few days/weeks/months...? Or should we err on the side of caution and take a make sure we eat everything a few days before that date even? Eat it a well before the date before before the use-by date? Or a few days before that...? just to make sure... would that make us safe?

How long does tinned food really last? Sometimes tins I buy only have months left on their best before dates. I guess they might not taste as nice but surely it would be safe to eat for much longer as long as the tins weren’t damaged?

I think the 'use by' and 'best before' dates are a guide to be used in line with common sense. But how about a 'best before' AND 'do not use after' date for things that could cause real problems if eaten when starting to go off, like processed meat, for example. Would a system like that be feasible?

During lockdown I've been grateful for home delivery service but have often received things with very close use by dates. Given the difficulty of getting delivery slots, I've had to order more than usual, less often, if that makes sense, so have frequently had to use stuff out of date. No one got food poisoning, thank goodness, and I didn't throw much away, but a couple of times I was concerned. I've frozen a lot of stuff I normally wouldn't, like yoghurt, how do I know how long it's good for when frozen? I've got stuff in my freezer that's really old!

@jacqui5366

What would you advice be on buying the reduced items in a supermarket - when they have to be used on that date, I sometimes see minced meat which is grey looking but within date, as opposed to the red looking 'in date' mince, and am put off buying it, I am not sure it's perfectly edible, what are your views on these items ?

This Some stuff in date doesn't look good, what's the advice on this?

I have ingredients e.g. tamarind paste and jars e.g. peanut butter in the fridge and cupboard. They all say 'use with 4 weeks of opening' or similar. This is never the case and we do tend to use for much longer. But being pregnant I don't do this at the moment. The food waste is incredible. Realistically what are the risks?

With use by dates how much 'abuse' is built in? Ie when I buy my sausages in 30mins/1hr in a warm car going to cause problems? Will food spoil before use by? Should I use a cool box/bag?

Is it better to use sound judgement with regards for use by dates? I usually use the sniff test or egg test for example to determine. I've used eggs over a week past the use by date and they've been absolutely fine!

For things like mayonnaise or jam where there's a long best before or use-by date with no need to refrigerate, how important is it to follow advice of 'consume within x days of opening' and should we throw it away if it accidentally gets left out of the fridge overnight once open?

Hello, if I had some pork that was going out of date today, if I freeze it tonight but defrost it tomorrow, will it be ok to eat? (is that crazy?!), or is it better just to smell test it tomorrow? And what is the longest I could leave it in the freezer? Thank you.

Are there any fruits and vegetables that genuinely have a standard use by date? For example when the shopping arrives most fruit goes in the fruit bowl and we eat it unless it looks/smells/tastes off we don't check the date. Any that we need to be more careful with?

If I have a bag of spinach I may not eat it as a salad after it's use by date but might add it to a curry as I assume the cooking process makes it safer to eat. Do the dates take in to account if the food will be cooked or eaten raw?

Hello everyone. Thanks for posting so many great questions on this thread! We're going to be answering 15 - 20 of your questions over the next few hours. We hope you find it informative!

• Helen, Narriman and Robin

@BristolMum96

It's almost impossible to not eat things after a use by date has passed as the dates in the shop are always incredibly short - usually next day or 2 days! Is it unsafe to eat anything past use by or just the usual culprits like milk and meat? Is use by definitely a use by or use the smell/look/taste test?

Robin says: Hi @BristolMum96. It can be tricky can’t it! Our advice is never to eat food which is past the 'use-by' date listed on the packet. We don’t recommend sniffing/looking/tasting food with a 'use-by' date. This is because food poisoning bacteria do not have a particular taste or smell or cause the food to look unsafe. For the 'use-by' date to be a valid guide to food safety the storage instructions must be carefully followed.

However, you can take steps to avoid food waste by planning meals in advance, checking your fridge before you go shopping and foods can also be frozen right up until the 'use-by' date. Love Food Hate Waste has lots of good tips.

@Downriver

What is the point of use by dates and best before guidance when our fridges are at different temperatures and we do not all store things in the same way?

Helen says: Hi @Downriver. We are a nation divided! Here at Love Food Hate Waste we found only half of us know that our fridge temperature should be less than 5C. Research suggests the average fridge temperature in the UK is 6.6C, which is bad news for our milk and the other fresh foods we keep in there. Simply put: having your fridge at the right temperature means your food will stay safe and fresher for longer. If you're not sure how to adjust your fridge temperature, there's a tool on the Love Food Hate Waste website you can use to check: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/article/chill-fridge-out

Choose the make of your fridge from the drop-down list and it will show you how to change the temperature. You might want to get hold of a separate fridge thermometer, so you can continue to keep an eye on it, as it will fluctuate depending on how full the fridge is, whether the door has been open etc. Hope that helps!

Robin adds: When manufacturers make their foods, they have to make sure that the food is safe up to midnight on the 'use-by' date (they think about things like the raw ingredients, production processes, pH, salt levels, water activity (how many bugs can grow in the food), packaging and preservatives). After that, they cannot guarantee the safety of the food, which is why it’s important to stick to the 'use-by' date and to store the food as it says on the packet.

Chilling food properly (in line with manufacturer’s instructions), helps to stop harmful bacteria from growing. We recommend that your fridge should be 5°C or below to keep your food safe.

@MyDcAreMarvel

Tinned food, jars of sauce , biscuits, crisps etc how old would they need to be to before they made you unwell?

Narriman says: Hi @MyDcAreMarvel. Items like biscuits and crisps would have a 'best before' date, which means that it’s only quality that is affected after that date. After this, it’ll be safe to eat but it may not be at its best as its flavour and texture might not be as good. I hope this helps.

@Asuwere

How much flexibility is built into use by dates? Surely something can't be fine at 11.59pm but unsafe at 12.01am, as it's now past it's use by date?

Narriman says: Hi @Asuwere. When manufacturers make their food products, they have to make sure that the product is safe up to midnight on the 'use-by' date. After that, they cannot guarantee the safety of the food, which is why it’s important to stick to the 'use by' date.

@Teatoweltable

Live yoghurt, is this OK after use by/best before. I've always thought the 'good bacteria' might help preserve it.

Narriman says: Hi @Teatoweltable. Thank you for your question. Yoghurts contain so-called ‘good’ bacteria, but they do not have any influence on preserving the food, live yoghurt can still contain ‘bad bacteria’, as well as good ones, if you eat them after the 'use-by' date.

@ButterflyOfFreedom

Are any food or drink products exempt from best before or use by dates? I've heard honey is the only food that doesn't spoil... ??

Robin says: Hi @ButterflyOfFreedom. This is an interesting one, some foods don’t have to have any date marks on them. This includes foods which are not prepacked (e.g. loose fruits or meats bought at a deli/butchers) and foods which are prepacked for direct sale (packed on the premise they are sold from).

A list of pre-packed foods which do not require date marking are:

• Fresh fruit and vegetables (unless they are peeled or cut into pieces or are sprouted seeds)
• Any alcoholic drink with a strength of over 10% ABV
• Sweet pastries, cakes and bread goods which are intended to be eaten within 24 hours of preparation
• Solid sugar
• Vinegar and cooking salt
• Chewing gum and certain sugar sweets and confectionary

While honey doesn’t appear to spoil, prepacked honey should be labelled with a 'best before' date. The reason honey is rather unusual is because of ‘water activity’. This is the amount of water in a food that bugs can use to grow, so the lower the number, the less likely microorganisms can grow. The of water activity in honey is between 0.5~0.65, and bacteria cannot grow below 0.75. I hope that helps!

Helen adds: Talking of 'uncut' fresh fruit and vegetables, which are exempt from date marking, did you know that most of your fresh produce items will stay fresher for longer if stored in the fridge (at the right temperature, of course, which is less than 5C)? Almost all fresh fruit and vegetables - except for bananas, onions, pineapple and potatoes - should be kept in the fridge. Try moving your apples and citrus fruits from the fruit bowl to the fridge - I think you'll be surprised at how much longer they last :) If, like me, you want to make sure fresh fruit is available at all times for little hands to grab a healthy snack, keep just a few in the fruit bowl and the rest of the fruit in the fridge.

@lillypopdaisyduke

How accurate do you think supermarkets are with their best before and use by dates - is there a criteria used by all supermarkets which they are regulated to, I keep my vegetables in my fridge and often use weeks past their best before date - bearing this in mind - how much must they throw away ??

Helen says: Hi @lillypopdaisyduke. To answer your question about food waste from supermarkets, according to WRAP (the organisation behind Love Food Hate Waste) only 4% of the (edible) food wasted in the UK every year comes from retailers. 12% comes from food manufacturers and 13% from hospitality and food service businesses. More than 70% comes from our homes - a whopping 4.5 million tonnes of good food that could have been eaten every year, in fact. The type of food we waste the most of is fresh vegetables and salad, so it's good to know you're keeping these in the fridge, where they will stay fresher for longer. And of course, most 'uncut' (i.e. it's not been prepared) fresh produce will carry a Best Before date - or even no date at all - so should still be safe to eat after the date, even though it might not be at its best. You can try reviving veggies in ice-cold water, but don't eat anything that's gone mouldy or rotten.

Narriman adds: It is the responsibility of food manufacturers to set the right shelf-life and storage instructions needed to achieve that shelf life (they consider things like the production processes, pH, salt levels, water activity (how much bugs can grow in the final food), packaging and preservatives).

Vegetables past their 'best before' date may become wrinkly or mushy, but are safe to eat as long as there is no visible sign of decay. Make sure to check for rotting or mould before eating.

The key thing to remember is, the 'best before' date is about quality, not safety. Food will be safe to eat after the 'best before' date but may not be at its best. The length of time vegetables are acceptable to eat after a 'best before' date can depend on the product and the storage instructions – so unless the veggies are rotten or mouldy, there is no need for anyone to be throwing them out.

@Wateringcan27

If you eat foods after their best before or use by dates, does the nutritional value lessen?

Robin says: Hi @Wateringcan27. The FSA do not advise eating food past its 'use-by' date. After this date, the food could make you ill.

'Best before' dates are about quality; the food will be safe to eat after this date but may not be at its best. Its flavour and texture might not be as good. Manufacturers have to label food clearly and not mislead consumers. Where nutritional values are given, these should remain correct until the expiration of the 'best before' date. After this point as the quality lessons and the nutritional values of the food may change.