Still drinking ASDA Semi-Skimmed Milk UseBy 29.8 in my Earl Grey - Is this a record?!

peterbaker

Hi ... what do Asda put in their Semi-Skimmed milk that makes it last so long?

Should I be worried? :eek:

I bought two 4 pint packs for £2 about 4 weeks ago both dated Use By 29.8 and I haven't finished the second and it hasn't gawn orf yet!

And no, I haven't frozen it!

Payless_2

I've just poured half a bottle of Asda's semi skimmed down the sink. It was use before 3rd Sept and had lumps in it :rotfl:. Having said that it didn't smell off.

Your fridge must be colder than mine

peterbaker

Yes I constantly am on the lookout for lumps in it . With semi-skimmed, the smell isn't as reliable a test I agree. Usually in situations like this I end up spoiling a cup of coffee as I see it curdle for the first time, and I am not sure it counts as money saving to let it go that far :rotfl:

I sometimes buy Tesco or Sainsburys but I consistently find that Asda's lasts longer (they all sit in the same fridge once they are mine so I am not convinced that it's my fridge temperature which is always on a mid-setting).

Having a bit of secondhand knowledge of supermarket distribution I have a feeling it is more likely to be down to a well-maintained "cold chain" from supplier right through to the chiller cabinet on the shop floor. Maybe my local Asda store has a good grasp of these things. I also believe that like fish, just an hour at room temperature (either in store or once brought home) might take days off the life of the milk. When I buy it, I don't walk round the store with it for half an hour and I always double wrap all my chilled shopping and knot the bag when I am transporting it home. After that, it never leaves the fridge except for a few moments of pouring.

But when you consider that it might actually last a whole month after it left the supplier sometime well before 22nd August, then that's still pretty amazing isn't it?

geordie_joe

peterbaker wrote: »

But when you consider that it might actually last a whole month after it left the supplier sometime well before 22nd August, then that's still pretty amazing isn't it?

Not really, the use by date is the minimum time the producer thinks it will last, plus a few days shorter to cover themselves.

What is amazing is the fact that you bought 2 bottles of milk when clearly it was going to take you over 4 weeks to use them.

peterbaker

So is your middle name contrarian, gordie joe?

You call 29th August to 8th September and counting "a few days" for days past use by date for a bottle of milk? It's 10 days already

When I succombed to the "2 for £2" marketing ploy by Asda, I was making a value judgement and I did think I would use most of it, thanks.

Amazing you should feel the need to deride me over surplus milk, or for no reason at all, really, but whatever floats your boat, eh? Steady as she goes, but do watch out for the lumps ! I reckon it'll definitely turn choppy in a day or two :rotfl:

Edit: Aha! My forecast was a little optimistic. Minutes ago, my evening milky coffee attempt failed! 10 days and no further! I put some of the stuff in a cup to microwave before adding instant coffee (same as I did successfully last night). Tonight I have simply created a lump of hot curds with whey on top ! No point in adding instant coffee to that methinks !

Payless_2

I had to drink black tea all night as I couldn't be bothered to go to the shops :rotfl:

geordie_joe

peterbaker wrote: »

So is your middle name contrarian, gordie joe?

You call 29th August to 8th September and counting "a few days" for days past use by date for a bottle of milk? It's 10 days already

No, I said "the use by date is the minimum time the producer thinks it will last, plus a few days shorter to cover themselves"

I was simply pointing out that the use by date is the least amount of time it will last, not a set date where the milk will go off at midnight.

So is your middle name can't read, peterbaker?

katsclaws

We have milk delivered by milkman. A few years ago we went on holiday and returned 12 days later to find that the milk I had forgotten to throw out before we went on holiday was still ok. We also find that fresh cream lasts well beyond use by date.

she73

When you start chewing your earl grey then me thinks its time to bin it haha

caroc

I've always been of the opinion that if the milk smells ok, then you can taste it and if it tastes ok then you can drink it. Spurred on by your example, I bought 2 litres of reduced fresh semi skimmed in ASDA on 9/9/10 (55p) and it ran out today 11/9/10. Nobody complained, and I wasn't going to tell them it was out of date. Sometimes you get little globules of fat floating around, and its still drinkable. If it tastes sour its gone off !:o