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

anonymousie

Just an obsevation re pickles , jam and other so called "preserved" foods.

unless you have pickled/jammed them yourself I'd be wary re keeping them far over the sell by/use by .

Commertial "preserving" really isn't as it would be at home. Jam has far less sugar in it (partly beacuse we want "less sugar" etc but also it makes cheap jam to bulk it out and add more pectin etc). The sugar is what keeps the jam, not enough and it will go off.

Ditto pickles- they are not what they were as my Dad would say (he is 80+)- the vinegar/saltiness isn't what it needs to be to preserve for long -again cheaper and pandering to modernern tastes. My pickled onions/eggs bring you out in a sweat they are so sharp! (and I love it!).

heatherw_01

I don't really pay too mcuh attention to best before but I do usually follow the use by dates.

kazmeister

kazmeister wrote: »

I'm with you, although I am wondering about the unopend pack of smoked salmon dated 26 June. OH mind you, will eat anything unless its actually bubbling or trying to find its way out of the fridge.

Well we finally used the salmon yesterday. DD 8yrs was cooking JP for tea so we mixed the potato with the smoked salmon and a bit of cream cheese and refilled the skins and put back under the grill. They were delicious and not a second thought about out of date salmon :cheesy:

Primrose

I regularly use food that is beyond is Sell By date. For breakfast this morning I had a yoghurt which was 2 weeks out of date and it was still perfect. Creme Fraiche, Greek Yoghurt, sealed packs of salami, smoked salmon, etc also regularly find themselves in our fridge beyond their Use By dates and are eaten without ill effect. I think date marking is all a bit of a con. I reckon if food is properly stored in a fridge which is kept at 5 degrees or less, you have a wide leeway on on long it can be kept for.

sooty&sweep

Hi
Aren't there two types of dating system ?

Use by for things like fish yogurt etc and Best Before means best before but still Ok to eat after but quality may not be as good ?

I don't see how things like eggs, cheese, milk, fruit & veg can suddenly be not OK to eat because of a date.

Alot more wary with cooked meats, chicken fish etc

andreab115

Come on who else has ever dipped into the reduced section at there favourite supermarket? I do all the time to see what has been reduced because its on its date, I often stock up on stuff i wouldnt normally buy ( too expensive) and freeze so I can treat myself when I get time. With eggs they are never in the house long enough to go off. As for other stuff I agree use your eyes and nose and if your not sure throw it out. S ry for rambling but :beer: tonight

nitnurse-not!

with regards to flour.... as long as it's not moving with weevils then I would use it.

Scorpio_Brighton

Use-by dates cause some awful and unnecessary waste, but they are not just there to make us buy more food. They are part of an overall pressure on us not to use or develop our judgement. This makes us more docile and obedient citizens (cannon-fodder, voters, taxpayers etc).

My favourite use-by date example is the three small wax-sealed cheeses with imminent use-by dates that I bought for 99p each instead of £3.99 after Christmas 2001. I kept them in the fridge and used one in January 2003, one in 2004 and one in 2005. The first two were delicious. The last was in my view a bit past its best, but quite healthy and nourishing. Develop your judgement. Learn what fresh food smells like, and don't waste it unless it looks or smells bad! If in real doubt, throw it, but don't waste it just because somebody who has no idea how fresh it was in the first place or how it will be stored says it will be unfit to eat by next Wednesday.

By the way, 5-10 minutes in the oven at around 200 degrees often makes a loaf that's three days past its use-by date a real pleasure to eat again, especially if it was kept wrapped.

thriftmonster

anonymousie wrote: »

Just an obsevation re pickles , jam and other so called "preserved" foods.

unless you have pickled/jammed them yourself I'd be wary re keeping them far over the sell by/use by .

Commertial "preserving" really isn't as it would be at home. Jam has far less sugar in it (partly beacuse we want "less sugar" etc but also it makes cheap jam to bulk it out and add more pectin etc). The sugar is what keeps the jam, not enough and it will go off.

Ditto pickles- they are not what they were as my Dad would say (he is 80+)- the vinegar/saltiness isn't what it needs to be to preserve for long -again cheaper and pandering to modernern tastes. My pickled onions/eggs bring you out in a sweat they are so sharp! (and I love it!).

Don't know about the bought stuff but we're still eating crab apple jelly from 2000 that I made and that is fine - we had a bit of a glut that year. Flour I go by the weevil test - if there aren't any - it's ok. Otherwise I just use my nose.

malcolmwilliamson

Not many products include the year in the Best Before/Sell by date so if you keep such a product for just under a year (or 2, or 3 ....) its safe to eat again.:rotfl: