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

sillyvixen

i only use eggs for making cakes, i make 2 cakes in loaf tins (3 eggs each) cook together and freeze one, as i know i wont use the others, i have a very starange relationship with eggs - possibly a deep mistrust. twice the mix 2% extra effort and a spare cake in the freezer is never a bad idea as i only need to bake half as often!!

Shocking_Blue

For years I’ve been buying reduced food-items from supermarkets, when they are cleared out before shop-closing time (see also this thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=788783).
This means I often end up with items which are not eaten on the day and will be kept for later consumption. I’ve personally found that foods vary greatly in the extent to which they can be consumed after their sell-by date. Here’s my experience:
Dairy products:

Can often be used beyond their sell-by date.

Yoghurt, for example, contains lots of (good) bacteria and acid, which makes it last longer than fresh milk. For testing yoghurt, carefully inspect the surface for mould growth (I haven’t seen any in the last 20-odd years), then taste a small amount. Yoghurt starts to change its taste noticeably before it becomes inedible, I’ve had yoghurts that were a week over the sell-by date and still in perfect condition.

Fresh milk: Even when it’s turning sour, it’s not bad to your health, so you have a certain safety margin and don’t need to throw it away when it’s over the sell-by date. A “sniff-test” will tell you anyway if it’s sour already. I'm not sure about UHT milk as the bacteria are missing, and the normal biological processes which turn milk sour may not work.

Cheese: Cheddar, Cheshire, Stilton and other “hard” or "cuttable" cheeses can easily be consumed beyond the sell-by date provided that you still like the taste. When kept for VERY long Cheddar, Cheshire etc. develop blue mould, which is the point at which I definitely throw them. Soft cheeses are probably less safe, so I wouldn’t keep them more than a few days over the sell-by date and then check carefully.

Butter: Can usually be kept over the sell-by date. It slowly develops a “cheesy” taste, when it get’s old, which however isn’t bad for your health.

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Bread:

Can often be consumed several days after it's sell-by date, in particular when kept in a cool place such as a balcony or outside your window. If kept in the fridge, it can deteriorate, as moisture redistributes in the package, leaving some parts very moist and others dry. However, it's best to always best to check for mould growth, in particular when it's pre-packed bread in colourful plastic-packaging that may hide mould. Also be aware that mould can be difficult to detect. On some breads it's not "blueish" but white and hence may be mistaken for flour. However, a close visual inspection should tell you what it really is. Mould always has a characteristic "velvety" surface and often spreads in round patches (yuk:eek:)


(I don’t want to over-inflate the post, so I’ll continue below.)

beemuzed

I've never understood those who throw stuff out as soon as the date changes - I think a bit of common sense and a reasonable sense of smell are what's needed! Probably wouldn't eat eg pate that was too far over date - but I'm sure all manufacturers give themselves a bit of leeway when setting dates anyway.

hollydays

I just buy it and freeze it. I buy from Asda and i find it is very fresh (meat) even after its sell by date.I won't buy meat that has started to change colour.

Shocking_Blue

Fruit / Vegetables:

I suppose with vegetables, the danger of having food poisoning is rather low. However, there are some things I always look out for:

Broccoli and pre-packed leafy salads have to be as fresh as possible. The salads tend to deteriorate really fast and start to smell like “compost” even before the sell-by date is over. Broccoli must not show any discolouring. Discoloured (brown) broccoli tends to deteriorate even more during the cooking process.

With pre-packed potatoes near the sell-by date, the problem is that they may already have an unpleasant (“off”) smell, that you only notice when you open the bag. In such cases, I poke a hole into the bag and smell them.

I’ve often had positive experience with fruit consumed after the sell-by date. Citrus fruits often last much longer than indicated, probably due to the acid. Even oranges and grapefruits that look a bit iffy and feel rather soft and over-ripe, are often wonderfully fresh inside. I often can keep them in the fridge for weeks.

Shocking_Blue

Eating meat that’s over the sell-by date:

With this I’d be really careful. I avoid unmarinaded/unspiced chicken pieces that are just one day or less before the sell-by date. I often had to return such items as they were off. Marinaded or spiced chicken pieces are a different issue as the marinade/spice usually contains salt which acts as a preservative. I’ve eaten such items even when they were one day over, but not more.

Pre-packed steaks (rump steak, fillet etc.) can sometimes look really nice on the surface but may be discoloured and smelly from underneath. The problem is that you can only smell and inspect them when you’ve removed the package. One trick I use (if I know I really want the item) is to poke a tiny little hole into the cling film and press the air out and smell it. If it’s good, I take it. If it smells manky, I make the hole really big to deter others from buying it. I'd still avoid eating it after the sell-by date though.

Shocking_Blue

beemuzed wrote: »

I've never understood those who throw stuff out as soon as the date changes - I think a bit of common sense and a reasonable sense of smell are what's needed! Probably wouldn't eat eg pate that was too far over date - but I'm sure all manufacturers give themselves a bit of leeway when setting dates anyway.

Same with me. I remember times when sell-by dates on fresh foods did not exist and you had to rely on your senses to decide whether it was still edible or not. On the other hand, a sell-by date does not guarantee that an item is still fresh and edible, so using your common sense and inspecting the food makes sense anyway,

Cornishpixie_2

If I think meat is going to go off then I cook it and always tend to think once cooked ok in fridge for few days. Only prob. with this is that DH sneaks in fridge and eats it straight out of fridge. How annoying is that? Even leaves empty plate in fridge to boot! Hey! HO! SHOCKING!!

sallyrsm

I read that you should salt your fresh meat when you get it home. It doesn't dry it out but kills surface bacteria. Rinse off before cooking. If browning meat, make sure you've dried it after rinsing otherwise it doesn't brown so nicely. That advice is in today's Daily Mail magazine from a chef.

sallyrsm

Oh and I should say that I have eaten smoked bacon a couple of weeks past the use by date.. I figured as it was smoked it'd be safer.
It tasted fine and I didn't get ill....