Sell Hy Date.

[Gromit]

I have just had a packet soup I had in the back of the cupboard and it was yummy, The sell by date on it was July 03.

Do you eat stuff out of sell buy, and what’s the oldest you have eaten ?

[ladybirder]

Eat it you'll be fine.

[emmie]

try not to, but had some dried packet pasta which keeps. Because i had mice in the property who were gnawing at the packets i gave them away to a friend who said they were fine.

[naomi24]

I wouldn't have eaten it - and Emmie's pasta would have gone straight in the bin. I can't see the sense in chancing illness just to save what amounts to pennies really.

[emmie]

my mate said it was fine. i wouldn't eat out of date chicken or ham

[Gromit]

If it is a air tight packet or tin it will be fine.
I haven’t eaten since Saturday, and I was hungry.

[pastafreak]

I think dried goods like pasta usually only have a 'best before', not a 'use by'. They will not spoil, go off, or become dangerous to eat. They will most likely only lose quality.

[naomi24]

I wouldn't eat anything that mice have been at!

[LadyCG]

Was it "use by" or "best before"? The latter is not a qualifying date.

[-SharonA-]

I had a carton on custard dated July 22. I had it & lived to tell the tale. :-)

[naomi24]

Gromit, just out of interest, when was the last time you cleaned your cupboards out? That soup was 20 years old!

[pastafreak]

I wouldn't either Naomi!
I'd be throwing bleach or disinfectant over everything, then into the bin!

[naomi24]

Me too, pasta. My kitchen would smell like an over-treated swimming pool!!

[gingejbee]

Fresh carton soup would have a "use by" date.
Dried packet soup would have a "best before" date.
Neither would have a "sell by" date.

[Canary42]

Expiry dates are a marketing con to increase turnover.

[Vagus]

I generally give out of date tinned or packet stuff a go and see if it’s still edible.
I’d never chance fresh chicken and would give fresh fish a good sniff before deciding.

[nescio]

Several years ago, I had a tin of vegetable curry. It was only after I had eaten it that I saw the best before date on the base of the tin - about 7½ past. There was nothing wrong with it. Canning was developed to preserve food - looks like it works...

[Gromit]

The packet just had a date on it. Didn’t specify if it was use by, sell by, best before or display until.

This particular cupboard is sorted and cleaned at least annually. Certain foodstuffs last for ever if they are airtight, so I don’t throw them away unless I think I will never use them.

[gingejbee]

^ so, why did you say "sell by"? (or rather "sell hy").

[Gromit]

Best before dates are usually on fresh produce.
A carrot will have a best before date on it.
Diced carrot will have a use by date on it.

Just out of best before date food can be sold or donated to charities. Food out of used by date must be thrown away.

[Gromit]

gingejbee!

The date on the packet of the soup I ate is the expiry date. Hy was obviously a typo.