What is your view on out of date food?

Question

I am willing to eat it - if it smells/tastes ok it is fine, but I know a lot of people with a real phobia - like the stuff just suddenly "turns" as the date changes! Just curious - any bad experiences I should know about??

Answer 1

everything has to have a date, even bottled spring water!
If you are happy by using your own common sense with food then carry on doing that. Food doesn't go bad on the stroke of midnight when it hits its use by date!

Answer 2

I think it's mostly so you can't eat something out of date and complain to the supermarket. People throw stuff out the second the date goes and it's so wasteful. Use your common sense- if it smells/looks bad don't eat it, if it doesn't then eat it. It wasn't so long ago that food didn't have expiry dates on it and I'm fairly sure people weren't dropping dead every few minutes then. The best thing about expiry dates is that it gets reduced when the date's running out, which means cheaper food.

Answer 3

Sometimes it may look ok, I think eating it if it's 1 day over isn't too bad. But if has a cell by date for a reason. I ate something that I realised was 4 days out of date, after I ate it, and I did get a bit sick after. It smelled and looked ok.

Answer 4

I've eaten plenty of stuff that's past its expiration date and haven't encountered any problems because I do the same thing as you ~ smell/taste test.

From what I've read, the expiration dates are just a guideline. I've had milk that went bad before the date on the carton and milk that was fine for a few days past that date. You have to always ve wary of your food, no matter what the date on it is.

There are four different dates in reference to food freshness/quality: sell by, freshness, package and expiration. For more information about these dates, go to:

http://safety.com/articles/what-do-food-expiration-dates-really-mean.html

Answer 5

Just eat it, people are loosing the abiltiy to apply thier own judgement by blindly following rules like "best before" and "use by"

I don't quite understand the "diehards reckon 3 days out of date OK" statement above. I think i work on a different scale. I eat cheese that can be weeks out of date. I recently drank a bottle of beer that was 15 years ( yes - years ) out of date....fine

Answer 6

On fresh produce then after a couple of days out of date I wont take the chance, frozen I will keep no longer than a week over sbd or ubd.
Canned or bottled I wont worry. years ago we didnt have all this sell by and use by, criky it must cripple small shops hanging on in there by a thread.

Its these bloody additives that I think is the prob, ok some make the food last longer.

Answer 7

If it's a package of crackers or chips or something, I say go for it. Milk items are a bit different. I'd smell first. But if I know they are out of date, my brain seems to tell me it's bad. Meat is different. A steak a day or two out wouldn't probably be bad, but chicken is a defintite no-no. My husband ate a hot dog once a week or so out of date, and had a terrible food poisoning episode. It was awful.

Answer 8

I risk it occasionally, but I have a sensitive stomach and I've definitely had a few bad experiences. I don't mind so much if the stuff has to be cooked and it's maybe just a day over, but cold meats and stuff that can't be cooked are left alone.

I once worked on a fish farm and saw healthier looking trout go to the tip, than I see reduced to clear in local shops. How old is it if it has milky stuff all over? No thanks, fresh fish every time.

Answer 9

If the exp date is the same day (or even the day after) and smell, looks and taste good, I have not problem. Anything after that, I throw it out.
The exp. date is an estimate the maker gives according to their media on their products turning bad, loosing taste/nutrients/appearance, or getting bacteria, so before that date, they trust it will still between their quality standards.. so the product can really turn bad even a couple of days before or after that date.

Answer 10

The sell by date is a date that manufacture will guarantee the freshness. On perishables like milk and meat. If it smells bad don't eat it no matter what date is on the package.

Answer 11

Once it is not perishable like veg,fruit etc it is ok to eat after the sell by date
Some people are just weird like that as soon as the sell by date has passed they wont touch it I am the same it is smells alright then eat it what is the worst that can happen!!