I have some food in my cupboard that is anything from a few months "out of date" to several years.
Is some of that food safe to eat?
For example there are a number of dehydrated foods such as pasta with suace (well powder anyway), also noodles and even powdered desserts. Sureley they would have a much longer "shelf life"?
And are there any foods which are particularly dangerous to eat beyond their best before dates?
2006-11-15 08:38:27 · 14 answers · asked by Halucinagenic 2 in Food & Drink ➔ Other - Food & Drink
The Best before date, is a guide with a big safety margin for the manufacturers.
It depends both in what form the food comes in, how you store it,
and if it has previously been opened.
Eggs for instant have a best before date on them, but you can tell how fresh an egg is by placing it into a bowl of water, as long as a bit of the egg is touching the bottom, it should be okay to eat. If it floats, don't eat it.
Be guided by your nose, and taste buds, and the appearance of the food.
Dried and tinned food can last a long time, but I found some currents stored years ago, and they didn't smell right.
2006-11-15 08:55:21 · answer #1 · answered by Sprinkle 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A lot of 'best before' dates were introduced to make sure the shopkeeper didn't sell old stock at new prices.
Tinned, pickled and dried stuff keeps practically forever.
Of course any 'added flavourings' will diminish with storage; but we've all got lots of stuff in the cupboard that will revitalise what's been lost.
Even 'fresh' food is usable beyond its supposed "use before" date.
Most meats are 'hung' before they are sent to stores to be butchered up into joints and steaks; and the best meat is apparently that which has been 'hung' the longest!
When you buy meat you should remove all packaging and place it in a non-reactive container - glass or pot - cover loosely and...er... use before it stinks to high heaven?
Aw...and I was doing so well at playing the expert til then!
What I do - if it's anything other than fresh produce - I ignore the sell by/use by date. If it's fresh produce I wash it under a cold tap - if it smells okay I use it.
FYI - no record of any food poisoning at my house...so far...!
2006-11-15 11:26:48 · answer #2 · answered by franja 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think some artificial additives can destabilise and change into different compounds which could be harmful.
Sometimes ingredients just start to seperate. Sometimes artificial preservatives will become ineffective and bacteria/moulds can start to grow if they were present when the package was sealed.
The jar/can seals could break down with age/reaction with the contents allowing bacteria to enter or metals to leach into the food.
An excessive amount of moisture could enter over time allowing bacteria/moulds/grain bug eggs to thrive.
Having said that, I've used dry foods months/year past their best-before dates if they've been stored in dry conditions. Sealed unopened sugar-preserved /salt-preserved /genuine-pickled products might be OK.
2006-11-15 08:54:13 · answer #3 · answered by Quasimojo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh boy! note issues i love those. My hair is 31" lengthy grows a million/2" a month and my mom trims it a inch or so each and every 6 months, so as which could keep me in provide for a lengthy time period ,yet with my love of Ice cream and that the colour would make it a depressing chocolate style than back my melon does not be very attractive bald, it hurts to drag and problematic to get to the back aspect of my scalp, there are some gray hairs........ my answer is: that prepare "A" will arive 20 min earlier prepare "B"
2016-11-24 21:20:04 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It varies, we eat food that is years out of date. I've recently had a bottle of beer that was 15years out of date.
It depends on the food and your own opinion.
Sellby/useby dates are generally to protect companies from law suits in case anyone gets ill, its nothing to do with the quality of the food.
2006-11-15 21:01:29 · answer #5 · answered by Michael H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its really up to you know that in bomb shelters there is tinned food that been there for years and years ...so .. if you buy meat out of date ..if it smells bad ...it could be but for real beef or game its hung for weeks and even buried and its still OK fish is smoked and is still ok months later bacon is vacuum packed and is still OK weeks later even eggs if you look at the sell buy date can be 2/3 weeks later frozen foods quite long also ..my advice if it smells alright its ok use your inborn senses but don't blame me if your sick think our immune systems are kicking in think mine maybe better than yours having no freezers when young and food was food ..played in the mud jumped over the middens etc etc .. use your nose thats what its there for have cooked food thinking it was ok but have put in bin because it didn't smell right if in doubt put in bin
2006-11-15 09:08:19 · answer #6 · answered by bobonumpty 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just bin them, they must have been in the cupboard for a long time to be out of date, so are you realy gonna use them?
2006-11-15 09:48:58 · answer #7 · answered by elhodgie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most foods that you find in your cupboard will not make you sick if they are ingested after their expiration date. But the quality and flavor will decrease
2006-11-15 08:42:13 · answer #8 · answered by Steve T 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It says best before a date, that doesn't mean it is any worse after that date
2006-11-15 08:50:18 · answer #9 · answered by Deafro 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
'Best before' generally means just that - it won't taste as good as its supposed to but won't actually do any harm.
It's 'use by' on fresh foods you need to watch out for, meat, fish etc. be much more careful with them.
2006-11-15 10:01:20 · answer #10 · answered by G 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋