General Chat

Do you eat and drink items well past the sell or consume by dates?
I have just eaten a toffee sundae which was out of date 29th January, also bought a ready meal which is good till the 24th February, I think it all nonsense, how can it keep that long in the fridge when our own cooked food doesn't last a week. :-(

It's probably due to preservatives. ;-)

They last because they are packed with preservatives :-0

It must have a knock on effect :-0

I recently read a story about a doctor who kept a McDonalds burger and fries on a shelf in his surgery. It had been there for several months when one of his patients asked why. He said it was to show people how much artificial junk was in it. The burger and fries still looked the same after a few months as it did on the day is was made. The doctor said that if something lasted that long, imagine how hard it is for the human body to digest.

Bile :-)

I ignore the dates - if it smells OK and tastes OK, I use it

I agree with you Ann. If it looks and smells alright then I use it. We managed well enough years ago before they put use by dates on things.

And as for Best Before dates on tins - I ignore them. Things in tins last for years!!

Kath. x

When it says "best before date", perhaps it means you should eat some dates afterwards. :-D

I too in ore sell by dates, like has been said if it looks and smells ok then it is :-), I wonder if our bodies will last longer with all the preservatives we consume :-D :-(

Graham, or date as in going out with someone on a date :-D

That might be why people are living longer ;-)

I'd forgotten about that sort of date. I haven't had one for so long.

I use the scratch & sniff test.

:-D

But I don't keep things for long. We live in the sub-tropics & some things go off quickly.... I don't keeps stocks of pasta because it goes mouldy & gets bugs, and tins go rusty.

Some things are ok to eat after the best before date, it's just the optimum taste at that date, use your eyes and nose. Use by dates are more important but stll use eyes and nose

Too much food wasted these days

Lizxx

What do you think the "use by date" could be on some "fries"??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uHxRwQqWFo

Not for the squeamish :-(

I take "buy before" date to mean that the manufacturer thinks that the taste may deteriorate .,................ and it also allows the stores to remove those items from their shelves


I take "best before" date to mean that the taste may well have deteriorated .................


and also allows the manufacturer to deny any responsibility if you get sick if you eat it after that date :-)


ie, it absolves them from any responsibility .................. or legal action.




as a side issue .................

............... I stock my freezer with homemade foods (stews, single portions of shepherd's pie or fish pie, etc)



we regularly eat those well after the recommended times for keeping homemade frozen foods :-)

Too many young people have been brought up with sell by /use by dates.I use my own judgement as most of you on here do.
My gran had tins in the cellar stored from before the war which we ate after it ended.

A typical example of the younger generation.I made jam and put the date on that I made it...when I took some to my daughters the children said it's out of date!!


And that was a good few years ago,so the waste has been going on for a while now. :-S

I used to work with a woman whose husband's job was going around supermarkets & shops, checking the codes on food items, for the dates. The stores were charged if they had goods over the "legal" date.

We all probably ate them, with no ill effects.

:-)

I always sniff the milk, even though there are a few days to go ..... and it's often BAD!

beetroot in a vac pack can have a use by date of two years. but only lasts a week, if you are lucky ,once opened, in a fridge...........must be the cold wot does it!

I see goods in supermarkets .on shelves cheaper .because sell by date is maybe next day ..the folk buying them .could not possible be having food on or before due date .they take them home freeze them & eat whenever .fresh veg & fruit just judge for yourself .blimey we are still here us oldies sniff & eat or throw out simple`s :-D