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

~Chameleon~

You can test if eggs are off by doing the float test Just wish I could remember which way round it is - sink/off or float/off :rotfl:

kazmeister

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I have several bags of flour dated July 2006, you reckon I can still use them?

On that one I would be careful as I nearly poisoned everyone last Christmas by using a packet pastry mix that was out of date (but not by a year). We originally thought the sausage meat was off it was rank (and my OH will eat anything) and then the jam tarts were the same so it had to be the pastry.

And deffo look out for the weevils - I threw a ciabatta bread mix out last week as when I opened it, there were loads.

Gingernutmeg

I think it's supermarkets just covering their backs, rather than a ploy to make us buy more and chuck it away ... although I'd imagine there are lots of people who do that.

When I worked in catering we stuck rigidly to use-by dates, as it's the law lol. At home, I'm more relaxed - I pay very little attention to use-by dates on vegetables for example, even something that's a bit soft will make a good soup. And I will admit to eating slightly out of date yogurt too

milkydrink

I throw out everything as it reaches its use by date & would not eat it after or feed it to anyone.
My DH thinks this is an awful waste.
Last week I was trying to chuck a fresh (ie not frozen) pizza that was use by the day before in the bin & he was practically wrestling with me so he could cook it & eat it. I won. It went in the bin.

Churchmouse

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

You can test if eggs are off by doing the float test Just wish I could remember which way round it is - sink/off or float/off :rotfl:

:rotfl: :rotfl: Just for info, it's float for off. (Though not necessarily *off* just old, and a bit stale. Break one at a time into a seperate cup, you'll know an *off*egg!!!!!) I've not encountered a bad egg in over thirty years, despite the use by date!!! If Pink was not on holiday, she could direct you to a site that says eggs are good for about 2 weeks past their sell by date. (when bought from a reputable grocer)

debsy42

I'll eat anything so long as it doesn't smell funny, OH is paranoid about out-of-date stuff and throws it away or rather he used to, now he leaves it in the fridge for me to scoff :eek:

*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

Churchmouse

debsy42 wrote: »

I'll eat anything so long as it doesn't smell funny, OH is paranoid about out-of-date stuff and throws it away or rather he used to, now he leaves it in the fridge for me to scoff :eek:

*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

:rotfl: :rotfl: You must be *the seperated at birth* twin of my DH!!!

I use the nose/ eyes test. Nothing *goes off* at the stroke of midnight on its *date*

Agapanthus

I never even look at the dates on eggs. I do what my mother (and my domestic science teacher) taught me: to break each egg individually into a small bowl and smell it before adding it to the recipe. If it smells bad then chuck it and go on to the next one. That advice dates from the days when eggs were collected from the hen house at the bottom of the garden and sometimes one got missed for days or even weeks.

Remember, it wasn't the hens that put the dates on, but some human - and what does he / she know about it?

I have found that eggs that are several weeks old make better meringues than fresh ones. (And I never, ever, keep them in the fridge. That makes sponge cakes sink!)

hot.chick

look and sniff tests for me!

I mean - they never used to have sell buy dates on things.. or use by,. so you had to go with your senses..

I couldn't sleep at night if I had to throw away everything that might be a minute past it's use by date

Penelope_Penguin

Churchmouse wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl: If Pink was not on holiday, she could direct you to a site that says eggs are good for about 2 weeks past their sell by date. (when bought from a reputable grocer)

In Pink's absence - take a look here.

HTH, Penny. x