use by dates

[netty.m]

When food has a use by date on it does it really matter or can you go a few days over??

 

[FP]

It is a safeguard for the shop to put a use by date on that is probably earlier than necessary.  A few days often don't matter.  Your eyes and nose will tell you! 

 

Similarly, if something is before it's use by date and looks and smells wrong then don't use it.  Often supermarket milk lasts a few days past its 'use by' date.  I frequently use eggs well past their date.  Years ago people kept eggs for months -  I am not suggesting that anyone does this.

[ezapf]

The use by date is printed on the package as a courtesy to let mold spores and bacteria know when to infest.

[Bohne]

I regularly eat yoghurts and stuff past the use by date.

And I am still alive.

I think, if it's really gone off, you'll see, smell or taste it!

 

[smudge]

Apart from eggs, I am a stickler for throwing food away  even a day after its use by date. This infuriates my husband who says, 'Look back to years ago when people didn't have fridges, do you remember anyone dying of food poisoning?" I  have to admit I don't remember anyone getting it, so I suppose he's right. He says it's just common sense to smell any food before you eat it, whether it be before or after use by date. I suppose I'll have to start thinking this way, especially after reading your similar views.

[nicola_red]

With yogurts, you'll know if they've gone off cos the lid appears 'inflated'.  This works with soya yogurts as well.  A friend whose mum worked in a yogurt factory taught me that!

[2nd row]

 all food chain stores/supermarkets etc., by law have to print the ' sell by date ', most products are completely safe to eat/use... some, these 'new' additives/colourings can make some 'go off ' faster than others, you then, have to use your own judgement, look, smell, taste,,, have you not seen certain shelves, where many products are reduced in price,, some out of date.... perhaps you've feel embarred  to stop and have a search.... dont, save some cash..... reduced, out of date, safe to eat...... Most top supermarkets, and i will not name names, out in area, where customers are not allowed, there are huge containers, where tons and tons of food, and products , are being crushed, and then dumped ! such high turn overs, that some perhaps are just 1/2 days out of date ! why should they sell all this to you ? you'll buy at their high, very profitable price . their new stuff,,, yes, all this good produce is dumped , tons, everyday day ! there would be NO famine in any part of the world today if this wasted food were taken thare.... and i cannot, cannot, see any poor starving motherwith kids looking at the 'sell by date '.. we are lucky, we can throw it in the bin, we have cash to buy newer/more.... Profit is what it's all about.... sorry this is so long.

[Oneeyedvic]

Personlly I always throw food away on a "use by date" - "Best before" dates are obviously quite different and stuff can be eaten after this date.

Bear in mind that it is illegal for a shop to sell you food after a "use by" date - regulation is here for a reason.

 

Yes, people years ago pre fridges did eat this food - but years ago the life expectancy was around 50 years old. Also bear in mind that out immune systems are very different now.

 

It is also differnt for different people. When I was in Thailand a few years ago with my brother, we both got food poisoning - Mine was 14 hours after his though but from the same source. My wife also has a very weak constitution and will get sickness / diarhoe (sp?) very quickly for foods that do not effect me.

 

Personally, i won't take the risk - but each to their own.  

[Robinia]

Like Smudge & oneeyedvic I'm probably over-cautious too but I do try not to overstock on fresh/chilled foods. I hope the fox enjoyed his sausage roll a couple of nights ago!

Have to agree with 2nd row though there does seem to be an awful lot of waste & one supermarket in particular seems to have a very short lifespan on their food.

[2nd row]

 re; Oneeyedvics reply, yes, can be sell by date ( which was the question asked ) best before date, etc, and yes , each to their own, as said, we are lucky, we have the cash, we have so many choices, but what if we didn't ? if you had been there, in Stalingrad, inside the Warsaw ghetto, god forbid,  a concentration camp, and you ' searching ' came across a lump of cheese, never mind what it looked like, even smelt like ! definately no sell by date on it , you WOULD have eaten, and enjoyed every last piece, ... life expectancy 50 years ? dont know what era you want to go back to ? some of these folk are still alive today.... as for your wifes condition regarding some food, i feel sick looking at some on offer in some shops..... and if i were in a country where they offered me freshly killed/cooked puppy dog, i'd spew up just thinking of it !  but to survive, i'd eat it, and then spew up ! food poisoning is not the food, it's the mistakes made during preperation/cooking..... especially in most meats.

[Oneeyedvic]

I would just like to point out a couple of things: yes I do have the cash but it hasn't always been that way.

I would say that Marks & Spencer never reduce their goods and sell them to the public unlike most other supermarkets. However, I know that they give this food to homeless charitys (or at least they did 10 years ago). Been there, done that. Had a decent meal thanks to M&S.

 

I am very cynical by nature, but every now and again, a company does do some good for non-commercial reasons (and it wasn't even free advertising as noone seems to know they do it).

 

[2nd row]

 perhaps, like many, my weekly shopping is confined to a supermarket which begings with the letter T..... honestly didn't know about the excellent good work carried out by M/S...  I  applaud them. and their good work should have been recognised and awarded for, might have shamed these others into doing the same, but as said before, its about profit, perhaps, in their good will and ways, M/S  now find themselves, over some time, in trouble, and lacking behind these others ? no one has the right to tell you what to eat, what to buy, and what to throw away etc etc,,, and me, last of all, which is not my intention..... yes, you and i have the cash, but i hate the thought of any food being wasted,,,, so back to Netty.ms Q,,, I  say " yes ", you may ,and rightly so, have other ideas,,,,so, having been there, the next time loking through your fridge/freezer or cupboard and you come across something which has passed its date, please dont throw it in your dustbin,  perhaps theres a single parent young mum living by, your local vicar would gladly accept whatever, he'll know who to give it to,    you may be doing this ? well, i'll thank and salute you too,,,and in your times, you too must have enjoyed a plate of bubble an' squeek..... which is ?

[galltin]

Twas 1979 - the winter of discontent and the world and it's wife was on strike. The bin men , the cemetaries - bodies were piling up- and I was in St. Mary's Hospital giving birth. Even some nurses were on strike and the ones that were working were stretched, and auxillary services were also out. There was no food,and M&S stepped in with ready meals and desserts. We'd never eaten so well.

[CiderMonkey]

i used to work in Sainsburys and we reduced the items going out of date but if they reached the use by date and had not been bought we had to chuck them all away which seemed such a waste as there was plenty that still would have been ok to eat. My mum always says 'how do they know that food will suddenly go off at the stroke of midnight?' which makes sense. the dates are there as a guide and are usually ok a couple of days after as long as they've been stored correctly (ie cold stuff kept cold'. as others have said - you can usually tell if somethings gone off already by the look and smell!

[Rock Mommy]

I once looked into starting a small business selling food.  When we received all the forms form the Department of Health etc, it became apparant that the person making the food decides how long they think it will last - there's not much science involved and no one checked up on the timescales you chose.  So, I would say it's a bit of a hit and miss process when you buy something and inspect the 'use by' date.  I am a great buyer of reduced to clear foods, especially stuff you can freeze, and I certaily wouldn't automatically throw out food just beause of the date, I think look and smell will tell you far more.

[BenDToy]

"Best Before" and "Use By" are exactly the same thing. These dates are established by the manufacturers, who are constantly pressured by the retailers to find ways of giving longer and longer shelf life, which reduces the waste levels. The dates are not arbitrary, but tend to err on the side of caution, so don't just accept them. Use common sense. It is a legal requirement to publish a "BB" date, even if one is not required. A good example is tinned, or jarred, food, which will never become contaminated. Normally a 2 year shelf life is provided, although this has no significance.

[natalie_1982]

My boyfriend drives me mental because as soon as food reaches the sell by date he puts it in the bin!  If he knows something is coming up to the use by date and I cook it (knowing that it has passed) I have to lie to him otherwise he says "it tastes funny, etc", but when he doesn't know he says "mmm, that was lovely" and clears his plate.  He's a daft git.

[aurelia]

I have used stuff after it's used by date - the only thing I would always bin is milk and I often find it goes off before the date stated.  I think it's just the shops way of covering themselves legally in case someone was affected - but in this day and age you can freeze stuff too to make it last longer but even fresh stuff will last after they have said - and I certainly use eggs after the date on the box - as you'd be throwing them way with most of the eggs in them

[Food student]

Oh no what are people saying!! Use by dates are completely different to best before dates. Use bys are used by manufacturers when the food is can grow lots of harmful bacteria like cheese and meat and ready meals. You might notice that foods with best befores are mainly dry or things like fresh veg or fruit. Best befores are more like guides as the foods given these tend to grow less harmful microbes and have a longer shelf life. Things that are off don't always smell bad, be very careful with meat products, they can cause some of the worse cases of food poisoning. Listeria can kill you weeks after you infest yourself by eating itand it grows on meat products; minced meat ones are particularly risky. Use by dates means USE BY!!!