do you eat food that's past the use by date?

genericguy

I'm looking at a cake right now, and it according to the date on the box it went off on the 9th. now, i love this particular cake, and I want to eat it, but I have the idea of throwing such items away ingrained into me from my mother. On the other hand, my housemate is a fcuking barbarian. Yesterday he ate some strange thing that he bought in south america in 2007, which expired in june 2008 (I actually think this is more cos he's a tight git - he actually said "this is horrible" and proceeded to eat a huge plate of it rather than run to the shop).

Anyway, help me out - would you eat food that's a little while past the use by date?

TPD

If the cake isn't mouldy, eat it. Not that the mould will harm you, itd just be a bit weird.


I had mince today, which was brown when raw. I'm concerned. I was only told after eating it that it had expired, I just figured it was some kind of fancy mince when I saw it in the fridge.

Hogzy

Dunno about mince but steaks are perfectly good to eat when they go brown, in fact they are better, aged beef is more tender!!!

Flying Abruptly

Its out by a week or less than yes
Anything more than that no

laoisforliam

Pick the any mould off and you're good to go..

I reckon the dates are just ball park figures anyways

Schism

:pac:....... om nom nom.

Go for it OP, report back with the results.

genericguy

The Perfect Drug wrote: »

If the cake isn't mouldy, eat it. Not that the mould will harm you, itd just be a bit weird.


I had mince today, which was brown when raw. I'm concerned. I was only told after eating it that it had expired, I just figured it was some kind of fancy mince when I saw it in the fridge.

thanks man (or woman), the worst thing is I'm a fcuking scientist and I'm still afraid even though I know it won't kill me. I blame me ma.

Stay away from brown mince though, dodgy meats will fcuk you up.

My name is URL

I don't but I'm fairly sure it wouldn't do any harm. I just can't bring myself to do it

I heard a freegan on the radio yesterday talking about how supermarkets dump food if they've oredered too much of it.. so there's no reason to think they don't have short use buy dates to ensure that it'll be restocked regularly

admiralofthefleet

yeah, if it smells and looks ok then its grand

genericguy

Cake eaten. It was so delicious, I got a semi.

wudangclan

isn't it being done away with here or in england because of the amount of perfectly edible food which is thrown out.?
it's just a gimmick to keep us buying more.

TPD

genericguy wrote: »

thanks man (or woman), the worst thing is I'm a fcuking scientist and I'm still afraid even though I know it won't kill me. I blame me ma.

Stay away from brown mince though, dodgy meats will fcuk you up.

Its man, and now my stomach is feeling queasy. I'm after a bowl of chilli made with the stuff.

Adamcp898

It'll be grand it's cake, I eat out of date stuff unless it's something dodgy like chicken or horrible like milk when it's gone off

walter sobchak

Don't worry about a Best Before date, but don't eat it if it has a Use By date (usually on chilled products) .... Listeria can build up in food - it doesn't taste or smell 'off' but it can seriously fook you up.

fikay

laoisforliam wrote: »

Pick the mould off and you're good to go..

I tell the missus that all the time

ChocolateSauce

If it's been in the fridge, usually two or maybe three days past depending on the food. Frozen, unlimited time. I once ate a joint of lamb that was 3 years old and it tasted fine.

Red_Marauder

I generally rely on the senses to tell if something is good to eat or not. I've often drank milk that was slightly off, scraped mould from bread for toasting, and definitely would have no problem eating slightly stale cake. I would draw the line at meat, particularly pork, and would never eat meat that had expired more than a day ago

genericguy

The Perfect Drug wrote: »

Its man, and now my stomach is feeling queasy. I'm after a bowl of chilli made with the stuff.

Nah I doubt you'd feel sick from it today, it'd take a while, I'd say you're a little paranoid at the thought more than anything else. Do let us know how that goes though!

Feel better bruh

genericguy

this whole thread reminds me of homer's sandwich in the duff gardens episode. "how could I stay mad at you?" :pac:

WeeBushy

Ah yeah, if it's meat and doesn't smell funny go for it. Anything else, so long as there's no mould it's fair game.

My granny however takes it to a new level. I was helping her clear out her house a few months ago and I found a bottle of Shweppes that had a sell by date of 1987... And she tried to stop me throwing it out. It was older than me. Said that it was only a "rough guide".

DamienH

Best before, alright after!

SeekUp

Frozen, definitely.

Yogurt? Absolutely!

gerky

Food poisoning usually sets in anywhere from two hours - six hours but can be to several days after the offending item was ate.

While there's no need to be wasting good food, there's also no need to be silly and take risks with peoples health.
Use by means just that and covers perishable food such as dairy,meats and other fresh food products, to take risks with these products is just plain stupid, people get sick or die all to often illness related to food poisoning.

Frozen food also has a use by date depending on what the food is go to the food safety authority site and they should have a list and times that are safe to be frozen, frozen does not mean safe forever.

Best before dates are different in that they're usually a guideline to use food while its at its best but it still doesn't mean that they'll be safe months-years after they're BB dates just use common sense.







This has been a public safety announcement brought to you by boards:D

barakus

People are too paranoid about this kind of stuff, I buy a lot of shopping out of the reduced to clear section in tesco or dunnes and save a good bit that way, you can just throw the stuff in the freezer when you get home if needs be anyway.
Food generally tells you when its gone off anyway, just smell it/ touch it, if meat is slimy or sticky and smells sickly sweet throw that shit out.
Pisses me off when I see people throw away perfectly good food because of BBF labels.People starving in Africa blah blah etc etc

miss_shadow

Some things are ok,like yoghurt and cheese. Other food is manky eating over its use by date,purely because of the quality of the taste of food. Who the ferk wants to eat bread with the hint of mould! Gross.

cherryghost

yeah eat the odd bit of pork thats out of date.


FOLKS ITS PAST ITS SELL BY DATE, ITS STILL GOOD TO EAT.

January

gerky wrote: »

Frozen food also has a use by date depending on what the food is go to the food safety authority site and they should have a list and times that are safe to be frozen, frozen does not mean safe forever.



This has been a public safety announcement brought to you by boards:D

Ah I don't believe that! If It's below a certain temperature, germs can't get in or out and once it's cooked above a certain temp it's safe to eat. It may not taste the same as it would if it was fresh frozen in the last month but it is safe.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Overheal

Depends on many factors. Are you broke? Can you afford to throw the cake in the bin? What are the risks of eating out of date cake? Do these risks outweigh the cost of throwing away the cake?

For instance there is week old sushi in the fridge. I have NO idea if its good for a month or 2 days. I know that Off-Sushi can do serious damage to my bowels. I have other things to eat. Sushi wasnt that expensive. Conclusion: chuck the fish, as delicious as it may have been in its former life as Fresh Sushi.

crosstownk

If it smells OK then I eat it. Personally, I reckon use by dates are guideline that are generally on the cautious side. I keep the fridge on it's lowest setting (2°C) and that seems to help keep stuff fresher for longer.

If it smells odd, looks weird or has a family of maggots living in it then I put in the bin - regardless of the date.

fifth

Use by = No

Sell by/Best before = Fair game

gerky

adrieanne__x wrote: »

Ah I don't believe that! If It's below a certain temperature, germs can't get in or out and once it's cooked above a certain temp it's safe to eat. It may not taste the same as it would if it was fresh frozen in the last month but it is safe.

Frozen food is only safe for long term storage if its properly prepared, properly packaged and kept at a extremely low constant temperature.

It can be done but it's a hard thing to do properly in a home freezer.


But once I don't have to eat it its your choice:)

Voodu Child

A lot of what I eat is out of date, just the way I was brought up. 'Waste not want not' and all that etc. Plus you can get great big boxes of out of date stuff for next to nothing if you know where to shop.

Never get sick or food poisoning, even after eating stuff that has made other people sick. I reckon its good for the immune system tbh :pac:

emeraldstar

genericguy wrote: »

Anyway, help me out - would you eat food that's a little while past the use by date?

Yup, all the time, and I haven't died yet.

Crumble Froo

check for mould, sniff, poke, sniff, eat.

Stark

Most food is safe to eat after its best before date, with the exception of the likes of meat and eggs. It just won't taste as nice. With eggs, you can check to see if it's safe to eat past the use-by date by seeing if it sinks or floats in unsalted water. If it sinks then it's still fresh.

genericguy

Overheal wrote: »

Depends on many factors. Are you broke? Can you afford to throw the cake in the bin? What are the risks of eating out of date cake? Do these risks outweigh the cost of throwing away the cake?

For instance there is week old sushi in the fridge. I have NO idea if its good for a month or 2 days. I know that Off-Sushi can do serious damage to my bowels. I have other things to eat. Sushi wasnt that expensive. Conclusion: chuck the fish, as delicious as it may have been in its former life as Fresh Sushi.

Cheers. But - the price of the cake isn't a problem, nor was i starving. in fact i was contemplating the eating of said cake over dinner. the issue was more whether i would enjoy instant deliciousness or delayed deliciousness. i chose instant deliciousness.

and it was gooooood.

Omnomnom

We can only make exceptions for cake....

and tea:)

K-9

This guy says up to 3 months:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1024879/The-best-challenge---One-man-boldly-goes-use-dates-food.html

sdanseo

If it's not meat, no harm. Won't touch meat even a day after cos i don't like food poisining.

Jesus Juice

I made two paninis today just before I put them in the George Foreman I noticed some spots of mould on the paninis but I just guessd the heat would get rid of them.And it did!!

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Use by dates are there for the manufacturers protection. When you have something kept well, like milk or meat, you can normally eat it a good while after it is "out of date". Smell or taste the food, examine it, you can normally tell if it is ok or not. Something like pork or chicken that is sour, can make you ill, most things just don't taste nice but will not harm you in any way.

Also, mold can be on your food and you may not see it. It doesn't start off big and blue on the first day.

Food can also go off long before it's use by date if not stored correctly. I normally throw out sauces that are out of date, other things I taste. Mushrooms for example, you know when they go brown, when you wash them they are slimey, well don't eat them. Not good for you

Snowie

generally yeah
not chicken or dairy tho most other things like a cake id eat regardless it does no harm

Spastafarian

genericguy wrote: »

thanks man (or woman), the worst thing is I'm a fcuking scientist and I'm still afraid even though I know it won't kill me. I blame me ma.

Stay away from brown mince though, dodgy meats will fcuk you up.

Gah! No! Don't waste food! Mince is supposed to be brown, it naturally goes brown when exposed to air. In fact if it's bright red it usually means that it's been dyed, not that there's anything unhealthy about that but it's just a bit dishonest. Believe me if it's gone off you will smell it, that's what your nose is for.

RiverWilde

Common sense really has to be applied in relation to 'best before dates.' If the food is hopping up and down demanding it's right to be heard before the UN sure it's time the food went into the bin. However, if it looks and smells okay and has been stored properly and ultimately cooked properly for me anyway it should be okay.

Riv

Korvanica

depends on the food type,
Milk and dairy (except chocolate) i wouldnt touch, i ahve had and im sure nearly everyone else has had the bad experience of ruining a good bowl of crereal or cup of tea with bad milk..
pretty much Everything else ill eat, except crisps, manky soft when outta date.. Nasty!

Atavan-Halen

I drank milk yesterday that was a day out of date and it was fine. Although you could tell it was on the way out, had a slightly odd texture. I won't touch anything with mould though. If theres mouldy bread in the press, I leave it there for the next unsuspecting family member