Things that are "best before"

geri1965_2

geordie_joe wrote: »

There will be no risk in using the flour after the bb date.

"Use by" and "best before" dates are dates the producer says are the least amount of time the product will last for. Normally the product lasts a lot longer that these dates (unless it something fresh like fish or chicken).

That's not strictly correct - from the Foods Standards Agency

The Food Labelling Directive (2000/13/EEC) requires most prepacked foodstuffs to carry a date of minimum durability. This will normally be a best before date, which is the date up to and including which the foodstuff will retain its optimum condition (eg it will not be stale).

The Directive also requires that a use by rather than a best before date should be used on those prepacked foods 'which, from the microbiological point of view, are highly perishable and are therefore likely after a short period to constitute an immediate danger to human health'.

http://www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/guidancenotes/labelregsguidance/usebydateguid

comping_cat

I would say the FSA and shops are protecting themselves - if something gives you food poisoning and its within its use by or best before date, you could sue - after then they have covered themselves.
Ive always thoght that best before was exactly that, better before that date - it doesnt say its not ok to eat after, just its better before then.
Ive always used the look, smell, taste attitude to food stuff rather than look at the dates (if it looks ok, smells ok and tastes ok then it prob is ok) and ive never had, or given anyone else any nasty illnesses, and hopefully i never will.

geordie_joe

geri1965 wrote: »

Originally Posted by geordie joe View Post
There will be no risk in using the flour after the bb date.

"Use by" and "best before" dates are dates the producer says are the least amount of time the product will last for. Normally the product lasts a lot longer that these dates (unless it something fresh like fish or chicken).

That's not strictly correct - from the Foods Standards Agency

The Food Labelling Directive (2000/13/EEC) requires most prepacked foodstuffs to carry a date of minimum durability. This will normally be a best before date, which is the date up to and including which the foodstuff will retain its optimum condition (eg it will not be stale).

The Directive also requires that a use by rather than a best before date should be used on those prepacked foods 'which, from the microbiological point of view, are highly perishable and are therefore likely after a short period to constitute an immediate danger to human health'.

What's not strictly true?

I said the dates are "least amount of time the product will last for" and the regulations say they must be "a date of minimum durability". It's the same thing just in different words.

I said you normally get longer than that date and also said "(unless it something fresh like fish or chicken)". You highlighted the words.

"therefore likely after a short period to constitute an immediate danger to human health'. "

To highlight produce with a short life.

Is that not also the same thing?

paulwf

geordie_joe wrote: »

What's not strictly true?

I said the dates are "least amount of time the product will last for" and the regulations say they must be "a date of minimum durability". It's the same thing just in different words.

I said you normally get longer than that date and also said "(unless it something fresh like fish or chicken)". You highlighted the words.

"therefore likely after a short period to constitute an immediate danger to human health'. "

To highlight produce with a short life.

Is that not also the same thing?

The difference is a product past its use by date will rapidly degrade to become dangerous to eat. A product past its best before date will slowly become inedible.

I know what you are trying to say but it is very important that people know the difference between use by and best before. Eating mince a week past its use by date carries a risk, eating biscuits 6 months past their best before doesn't.

The FSA estimate there are 850,000 cases of food poisoning a year in the UK so food poisoning is a fairly significant risk, but at the same time needless food waste is high...the more we understand about food safety the more we can protect ourselves at the same time as saving money.

MrsBartolozzi

We rely far too much on use by dates.
We need to rely more on our senses, like we did before dates were added to our food because bad storage conditions can make food bad long before the use by date expires. It's also common sense that food is not like Cinderella, it won't make you sick on the stroke of midnight of it's use by date so use your nose and have a sniff, if it smells ok then have a small taste etc. We can't always rely on the date so get into the habit of checking the freshness yourself. Like eggs for instance - they last way longer than the dates producers put on them, but you can still get a bad egg that's in date, so use the float test like our Grannies did.

NickJW

Edited: should be in 'Old Style', not 'Grocery Shopping'. I apologize - I'm new to this. :-(

Kavajo

I am a food date sceptic, believing that supermarkets put short dates so that people blindly throw food out and buy more to replace it.

However, you need to be careful with flour. It has a tendency to become infested with tiny weevils, even if it is kept in an airtight container. You can just about see them with the naked eye, so check your flour carefully before using!

nesssie1702

PaulWF - eating mince 1 week after the Use by date should not carry a risk of food poisoning provided the meat is cooked properly, as cooking will destroy any food poisoning bacteria that are present. Food spoilage bacteria on the other hand may well contribute to changes in taste and texture that make the mince unpalatable.

Some products with Use By dates do not degrade rapidly and become dangerous to eat - yogurts being a case in point.

Whilst I appreciate that there are a significant number of Food Poisoning cases a year, we have to ask ourselves what causes them?

mirko

Kavajo wrote: »

I am a food date sceptic, believing that supermarkets put short dates so that people blindly throw food out and buy more to replace it.

However, you need to be careful with flour. It has a tendency to become infested with tiny weevils, even if it is kept in an airtight container. You can just about see them with the naked eye, so check your flour carefully before using!

Yep, I've seen these before. It's a nightmare picking each individual one out before using the flour I can tell you.

/joke

paulwf

nesssie1702 wrote: »

PaulWF - eating mince 1 week after the Use by date should not carry a risk of food poisoning provided the meat is cooked properly, as cooking will destroy any food poisoning bacteria that are present. Food spoilage bacteria on the other hand may well contribute to changes in taste and texture that make the mince unpalatable.

Some products with Use By dates do not degrade rapidly and become dangerous to eat - yogurts being a case in point.

Whilst I appreciate that there are a significant number of Food Poisoning cases a year, we have to ask ourselves what causes them?

Some food poisoning bacteria produce toxins so unfortunately just killing all the bacteria present won't always make it safe. Although thorough cooking will protect you in some cases it won't in others so you can't just cook an old product and hope you'll be safe.

I take your point about yogurts

As to the increase in cases I think we have to look at the whole food culture including the way we cook, the way we eat, the decreasing amount we are prepared to pay for food which puts pressure on producers, and the way we shop.

I know that sounds like a vague answer but our food culture has changed so much; from using microwaves and BBQ's to shopping once a week instead of everyday, and eating ready meals instead of cooking from scratch and so on. All of it combined has led to an increase in food poisoning which is thankfully now being addressed. Or rather was being addressed until the new government decided to disband the FSA in return for money from food producers. Andrew Lansley also criticised Jamie Oliver's school dinner initiative before disbanding the FSA in return for money...welcome to a future of big brand processed food.