Archive:Quick Questions on food safety / sell by / use by dates

Liz3yy

Go for it, it would be a shame to waste good food.

lrr_2

wouldnt touch it...

food poisoning not nice......._pale_

liney

So its kind of a cured sausage like a cured hung ham? Those things can last years...or have i got the wrong end of the stick completely?

I's eat it if it smelt/looked/tasted ok. Cured food is pretty hardy, from before the days of fridges.

npsmama

So its kind of a cured sausage like a cured hung ham?

Yes, it is.

Well, here goes...we're going to eat it. So if you never see any posts from me again...

eilidh_s

"best before" just means its best to eat before this date but it doesn't mean that on the stroke of midnight it goes off and is unedible. When it starts going green and growing things then I would start to consider throwing it out.

nesssie1702

The best before date is the manufacturer's recommendation that the food is best eaten before the date specified if you want to enjoy it in its best condition. As Eilidh_s says,it doesn't go off when it's a day past that date.

Remember the story about the man who celebrated his Golden Wedding Anniversary by eating canned chicken that they'd been given as a wedding present!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4693520.stm

M.E.

My two top shelves in the freezer have developed a fault. They are just at freezing point, but the remainder of the freezer seems OK. Indicator has remained steady on -20 but obviously that is not right,
Engineer is coming but not until next week, so I am able to lodge an insurance claim.
It seems only "packaged" stuff can be claimed.. but most of the stuff is home-cooked and then frozen.
Has anyone else had the same problem?

thatnewgirl

Hello everyone!:hello:

Long time lurker, first time poster!

Here are my questions. On Sunday morning the leg of lamb we should have had for dinner was not defrosted so I ended up cooking it late Sunday night to eat on Monday. By the time I took it out of the oven it was so late that I just wrapped it in foil and put it straight in to the fridge. Was this wrong? And is it dangerous?

Then...on the Monday I took the meat off the bone, wrapped it in foil and popped it in the oven while the potatoes were cooking to warm it. Again, was this a mistake? Even if it wasn't piping hot when I took it out to eat surely that is no different to putting cooked ham in a toasted sandwich for example, is it?

I know its too late now but what are the chances of us all getting ill?

Following on from that, I am tonight cooking a casserole in the slow cooker as meat went out of date today. It will be cooked at about 10. Can I then transfer it to another pot and put straight in the fridge?

Many thanks x:think:

Skint_Catt

If you ate it last night and you're not ill now then you won't be. I'm not an expert on food so I'll leave it to the experts on here. The casserole should be fine put straight into the fridge as I've done this before.

C xx

sandraroffey

putting warm/hot things in the fridge risks the rest of the contents going off very quickly. the hot stuff instantly lowers the temperature of the fridge!!! you should chill it quickly before doing that. it will chill quikcer if you put it into several portions in smaller bowls then put back into a large clean bowl whenits cold.