Do you eat food past its sell by,best before or use by date to save money?

showmethemoneyuk

For example, I have an uncooked pizza, in the fridge since purchase, and as usual for pizza-all meat (usually chicken,pepperoni,or ham) has been previously cooked. Its 7 days past its sell by date. I have unknowingly eaten sausage rolls past their 'use-by' date before (never frozen-over 1 week old), and they tasted fine and did me no harm at all. This got me into googling around for articles on exactly how much money we may be wasting, binning food that may otherwise be perfectly edible, reading articles on a paranoid britain-relying on these 'use by' dates as something you cannot ever question.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1392231/Food-past-use-date-Still-perfectly-safe-eat-according-Tom-Rawstorne.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16183058

Previous to any dates ever being slapped on food, a bit of common sense was the number one way to gauge whether something was still edible or not (if it still tasted,smelled and looked ok). In the modern world, food with an expiry date is not going to miraculously go off and be unsafe to eat as soon as it hits midnight. I can answer anyones question on whether something can be eaten or not with the old 'if in doubt, throw it out'. Im not saying that everyone should start taking a chance by eating food long past its 'sell-by', 'best-before' or 'use-by' date (especially raw meat and dairy), but I think these safety date stamps should definately be simpler to understand for the public to get a better hold on whats likely to be safer to eat and for how long. Including common sense-do we really need 3 or more ways (best before,use by, etc) to help give us an idea on what is safe? Its an interesting topic considering how much money we may really be just wasting when binning so much food each year. I also question if some dates slapped on alot of food are actually earlier than they could be, for the simple likely reason of the supermarkets being able to make far more money as a result, with the customer re-purchasing or replacing.

On my pizza, I may well take the safe option, since it was never frozen, and its a combo of dairy cheese and meat, which can have bacteria that can withstand high temperatures, but if the use-by date was any less, I would have likely eaten it-and survived lol

hermum

I will eat food past it's date, if it smells & feels ok then I reckon it will be fine.
I have a friend who won't eat anything even on the day of it's best before. She's so neurotic about it that her sons who are under 10 won't eat anything uless the date's been checked.
She must waste £'s every week.

quintwins

I regularly buy and freeze whoopsie items and do orders on the short dated sites, but i wouldn't eat your pizza, i prob wouldn't eat anything meat related thats been in my fridge for a week indate or not.

I tend to only eat things a day or 2 past there best before (except for dry items) i think the key is to try use them up before it gets to that point rather than having to throw stuff away, very little goes in the bin in this house.

SailorSam

If it smells Ok, then eat it.

Sambucus_Nigra

I smell and usually use.

I remember one year my mum had a party and we took all the left over food home.

I came down the next morning hoping to have a slap up brekkie of all the left overs and my mum's bonkers friend had chucked the lot in the bin. Including half full crisp packets.

Bearing in mind I'd bought and made half of it I was furious. Throwing away my fantastic potato salad. I'm still angry!

cleggie

Unless its meat, eggs, seafood, fish or dairy, then i just give it the smell test. If it smells rank, i bin it, if it smells ok, i'll eat it.

mcjordi

if it smells and looks ok then ill eat it.

Saturnalia

Sniff test for fridge goods here too. Anything that is tinned, dried or in foil pouches has such long use-by dates it won't be in the cupboard long enough to go OOD and frozen stuff again lasts pretty much forever.

The only things I am cagey about are: anything I've been lazy and left out overnight as it gets warm and probably the cats will have got at it, and bread, as many a time I've eaten half a slice before spotting mould on the crust. (Mind you, loaves don't live long around me anyway).

Take_it_like_a_man,_sonny

Black Treacle, used in Xmas pud, dated November 2007. Will see anothher serving this winter, as with the last pud from last year, still brewing on the sidebored.

picnic

im baffled by the amount of people that dont know the difference between a 'best before' and a 'use by' date... one is a very broad guide line on when the item may not be at its best but is still edible and wont harm you. the other is also a guide but the item will quicky degrade to when it can harm you.. neither is a 'chuck me in the bin i'll kill you' date..

when and where did common sence go....

mcjordi

i have some cupa soups in the cupboard dated 2008 and 2009 but i will use em as i paid a £1 for 10 boxes lol im not wasting a quid.....