Are My eBay Twinkies Out of Date?

Kintarō Hattori

Hey Folks,

After watching Die Hard with the missus I found out that she hadn't ever heard of Twinkies and never had one. I looked on the net and settled on a seller who's been around a while and has good feedback.

I won this auction:
http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190139773793&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=009

They've arrived today and I'm a little concerned. They didn't arrive in their twinkie box but a box for another treat and they are rather squashed. What's bothering me however is that on the twinkies wrapper it says 'Last Sale Date' and there are various dates for August such as August, 15th, 06th etc. There doesn't appear to be a year. Are they out of date?

Appreciate any comments you might have.

JJ

MMM...Twinkies.

Maybe you could take a bite and if you don't keel over, dig in.

JJ

Also, I used to bring back Twinkies anytime I went to the US but I always made sure to buy them closer to the time that I left because the sell by date is usually a week or two after they are put on the shelf. I've never tried one out of date before.

Kintarō Hattori

Well the seller states that they only buy them after the auction has finished, and I can't find an actual 'Best Before', just that 'Last Sale Date' thing.

I'd prefer not to dig into them if they are out of date. I'd be surprised if they are as the seller has good feedback. Needless to say I've emailed them but haven't heard back yet.

Kintarō Hattori

They are in fact out of date, I just got this reply from the seller:

No eo980, they are not out of date. They can be put in the freezer and they last 3 months. When bought, they only have 1 week from the date bought. I buy them after the auction ends and mail out asap so you get them within a time frame. Anyhow, the expiration on all hostess products are a week since they are cakes. I usually put on there to put in the refrigerator or freezer . In the freezer they last up to 3 months. Thanks, Sharan at kids1

She say's they are not out of date but that they have a shelf life of just one week and can be put to the fridge where they last up to 3 months. I'm confused?! Surely they are in fact out of date? One week doesn't seem like much of a shelf life?

pow wow

She means if cupboard stored they 'spoil' in a week but if you'd been keeping them in the fridge they'll last a couple of months.

In reality though unless they've been exposed to high heat or excessive moisture I'd say they're fine. American 'consume by' dates are odd (and not always on food to begin with) and twinkies are so loaded with preservatives and various other delicious ingredients they can stand up to a week or so out of a fridge. In stores they are sold with the bread (i.e. on the shelf not in the chiller).

Eat up.

Kintarō Hattori

Ahhh many thanks, that clears that up. Bit strange but not to worry, we're eating away.

Del2005

All that "Best before" or "Last sale date" means is that they start to loose quality and won't taste as nice, but they don't go off. If it says "Use by" then they will go off and have to be thrown out.

rubadub

All that "Best before" or "Last sale date" means is that they start to loose quality and won't taste as nice, but they don't go off. If it says "Use by" then they will go off and have to be thrown out.

Yes, "best before" means just that, best quality before that date, slowly degrading afterwards. "use by" is on meats, milk etc, and it can be "toxic" after that date.

When calculating either dates they pick worst case scenario, e.g. packets in full sunlight at 30C. Some tinned food can have dates many years away, but I know people that think on the stroke of midnight feb 8 2015 that their tin of beans will magically become toxic and full of mould!

Many in the US have high room temps, I have had lads on forums in disbelief when I said my room temp is at 18C in winter, many consider 25C a min room temp.

In the US the dates are usually mm-dd-yy, think 9/11.

Also twinkies are reknowned and joked about lasting forever- all the preservatives etc.

Kintarō Hattori

Cool thanks folks. I had one or two many years ago and forgot what they were like. After watching Die Hard herself was curious as she had never heard of them before.

Well I don't see what the fuss is about, they're pretty plain and certainly nothing to write home about!