Do you follow Use by and Sell by Dates, and other food safety issues

Choccyholic

debsy42 wrote: »

*and if something falls on the floor and isn't there more than 5 seconds it's good to eat (usually give it a brush first though

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-second_rule and I saw an excellent episode of Mythbusters on the subject:
"This myth yielded a varied number of results, but in the definitive test where the only variable was time the myth was definitively busted. There was no real difference in the number of bacteria collected from 2 seconds exposure as there was from 6 seconds exposure."

As for food, I like to walk on the side of caution. I've had bad experiences with milk tasting funny on its last date, yoghurts too. Yergh, fizzy yoghurts.

BG_Porgy

I subscribe to ..... eat anything if it smells and looks OK using common sense. Unfortunately, common sense is not so 'common'

I am a retired EHO and supposed to know what I am talking about.

I look for the 'almost out of date code' food in shops and store it in the freezer. I like saving money.
My family and friends call me 'Grippy'

Bananas are best when black and runny.

craziest example of date coding is on bottled water from the volcanoes etc etc ....been in the ground for millenia but has a date of months ..crazy

Of course you would be crazy to buy bottled water in the first place...now there's the power of the marketing people. If you must buy it, buy local water, not stuff transported hundreds or thousands of miles

BGP

maeva

my dad used to be a baker and he reckoned that compettion bakers kept the flour well past it`s use by date as it had a better rise to it. I make my own bread now and as long as it does`nt have weavles in it`s fine.
As for other foods I eat yogurt,cheese and eggs up to 2weeks past date and anything else , have a good sniff if it smells iffy or looks a bit off colour then give it to the cat, if the cat won`t eat it then you know it was dodgy

Ivana_B_Rich

I eat anything and everything past the use by date. Even if it is a bit *mature* I'll happily pop it back in the fridge for another day or two:rotfl:

My Mum is :eek: when she finds out how mature some of my food is :rotfl:

teedy23

I,m for using beyond sell by, as long as it,s the right colour and doesnt smell bad I,m having it. The only thing I might think twice about is pork, other than that, with a bit of common sense I,m eating it.

zena2105

I eat loads of stuff past it's sell/use by date. cheese, yoghurt's, chocolate, flour, cakes, sweets, bread......like others I go to the sell by today counter at supermarkets and see what bargains i can get, then freeze them for later date........like most other, it's a case of looking, feeling and smelling......

Patricia14

hi,

what i generally recommned is to freeze the product ( on end by date day).

Recently i made delicious shakes with plain organic youghurts and fruits. and freeze them. and now i am eating them and they taste delicious!
if you have lots of ripe fruits you do not want to throw away you can do
any kind of smothies or shakes and freeze them. and keep them up to one month.

Regarding the cheese, you can grate chedar for example and freeze it. I don t think you can do that with soft cheeze like brie though.

hope the above can help,

Patricia14

churchmouse_3

Soft fruits can also be used when bruised or dodgy to make cooked sauces such as coulis or even a tangy sauce for meats, i recently bought out of date raspberries sooo dirt cheap and made loads of sweet and savoury sauces and bunged them in the freezer.
I am with Agapanthus on eggs as i buy free range from a local source but plan to have my own chickens soon....but as i do all my own baking i break into a cup first before adding to recipe.
Any foods high in saturated fats are to be wary of as the fats go rancid quickly but i bet that most of us OSMS have pretty good immune systems and lead lined stomachs already.

verynewmoneysaver

When I was doing a course quite recently we had a talk from an environmental health officer who said it wasn't a good idea to cut mold off food and eat the remainder as the spores go through the food even if you can't see them.

sticher

I have to say I used to throw things out at their use by date, but after seeing a newspaper article stating that things like prepacked cooked meat (something I would never have used out of date before) would be safe to use up to 10 days after its use by date I have had a rethink.

I now use my eyes and nose. I never look at the date on eggs (but know I have used them weeks out of date on occasion). I would not (and never have) hesitated to use things such as flour or sugar well after their dates. My children have eaten out of date eggs/yogurt/cooked packet meat and have never suffered as a result of it. In fact they are rarely ill.

Oh and I am always amazed that people throw out frozen food because it has gone out of date - it cannot go off, just loses quality.