Is it safe to eat food past it's use by?

Hintza

Last week Creme Freche with a June use by date, quick sniff!

Too sterile an environment is just building up problems for the future. A few wee bugs now help build up immunity for the day the nasty ones get you.

dasophster

Yoghurt, Cultured buttermilk and similar foodstuffs never go off, all that may happen is they will go mouldy or get too sour to be remotely palatable. Before I was vegan I used to keep buttermilk for a month or so after the date, in baking it was fine xx

76rosie

hello to all.

it is how the product is looked after that determines how long the food will be good for. Foods are given a shelf life determined by the food group they come from ie fresh sausages are given 8 days.

however, if the food has been bought from a supermarket it tends to last beyond its shelf because the food hygiene standards are rigourous e.g temperarture control, cleaning, food handlers hence the bacterial growth has slowed.

A good example would be milk left in a hot kitchen will go off in an hour.

As for meat, it is dependent on the meat as to if it is suitable beyond it use by. Minced meat tends to go off quickly because of the mincing process.

But meat should always be well cooked ( core temp 72c) this kills salmonella etc

how do I know this??? 12 years Quality control in a BRC grade A factory.

stephen77

as mentioned above. Depends on the food. some bacteria do not produce rotten aroma so you can not be sure.

Depends on how you store them at home. If you live next to the supermarket in the winter, your get more life than living 1 hour away on a hot summer day.

I normally bin white fish. As that goes off very quickly. Less worried about meat, especially beef.
CHeese I just go by mould.

Some use by are about quality rather than being a use by date.
eg pre-packed Cheese & pickle sandwich. The bread will have gone stale and be like cardboard rather than being unsafe to eat. It would be horrible eating experience unless you like stale bread.

couponqueen123

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Cook it, nuke it etc, even if it is off it won't kill you.

Given the money saving aspect, I buy freezable produce from any one of the 5 nearby supermarkets that is in the whooooops cabinet.

Do you think they would risk litigation by selling produce that is health harmful????

There have been several documentaries on TV recently, the warning is really that the product is at it's best before or at it's sell by date.

Me. I can't smell or taste well, works for me.

And, a parting shot, if you ever saw what went into asda and tesco's skips, you would question the value of food.

my o/h was fixing something in a tescos store in london few weeks back and he came home and told me what he seen i was :eek::eek::eek:

he seen them throw a cage full of meat bread yogurts he said the yogurts were never ending boxes and boxes,

he was amazed at how much they were loading in to skips some of it culd have been recycled;)

and i.m o if the store was managed better :Dthe "waste could have been off loaded before it got to bin point making it usable for others

KxMx

Out of date meat and fish would make me think and weigh up the various factors; but if we're talking ready meals then I probably would eat it after cooking a little longer than normal.

[Deleted User]

I've got a full sealed tin of Silm Fast milkshake in the cupboard (originally wasn't mine) with Best Before End Jan 2013 on the bottom. Would this still be safe to use?

Also in my freezer I got Youngs fresh Basa fillets that were frozen on day of purchase, 30 Oct 2011, would these still be fine to eat?

cyclonebri1

couponqueen123 wrote: »

my o/h was fixing something in a tescos store in london few weeks back and he came home and told me what he seen i was :eek::eek::eek:

he seen them throw a cage full of meat bread yogurts he said the yogurts were never ending boxes and boxes,

he was amazed at how much they were loading in to skips some of it culd have been recycled;)

and i.m o if the store was managed better :Dthe "waste could have been off loaded before it got to bin point making it usable for others

:T:T:T:T

Yes it's frightening to think that we are paying for perfectly good food to be landfilled. Juesss, thanks to our government we even feed the pigs with it anymore:mad::mad:

Yes, we are paying for it whilst ever Tescos make a profit doing that, we are the loosers.

I am trully glad someone else has seen what we see.


The bit that really annoys me is this;

The waste arises do to over stocking and lack of stock rotation.
Our local CooP are crap at this, as a result you can get 1/4 price stuff in there on Saturday and Wednesday.

Tesco, their whoops cabinet is full, but you might as well buy a long sell be date as the reductions are minimal.


Finally sorry for the rant, I simply hate waste.

MysteryMe

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

I think anything with a "mound" which has to be "picked off" would be going straight to the bin in my home.:eek:

I'll slice the mold off the outside of a block of Cheddar and the rest has been fine. I eat Stilton so not that bothered by seeing mold on other cheeses TBH.

cyclonebri1

MysteryMe wrote: »

I'll slice the mold off the outside of a block of Cheddar and the rest has been fine. I eat Stilton so not that bothered by seeing mold on other cheeses TBH.

Blue stilton, danish blue etc:T:T:T, they ain't going to kill you.