Reducing food costs

kayester

sorry i didnt want an argument i was just voicing my opinion.

i have mince in the fridge that is best before todays date.
We are having something else later and so i will bulk cook something for the freezer with this. i wouldnt save it for a year later!

notanewuser

kayester wrote: »

sorry i didnt want an argument i was just voicing my opinion.

i have mince in the fridge that is best before todays date.
We are having something else later and so i will bulk cook something for the freezer with this. i wouldnt save it for a year later!

As a fresh food, mince is totally different. It has a "use by" date. Odds are it would still be perfectly fine in 2 or 3 days if you couldn't use it today. Nobody should keep fresh food for a year after it's use by date!!

dlusman

kayester wrote: »

sorry i didnt want an argument i was just voicing my opinion.

i have mince in the fridge that is best before todays date.
We are having something else later and so i will bulk cook something for the freezer with this. i wouldnt save it for a year later!

Your posts seem to show a complete misunderstanding of food labelling and the differences between "use by" and "best before" and why so much food gets thrown away unnecessarily in this country

kayester

my mince says best before? how is that confusing?

Ilona

'Best before' is advisory, it's telling you it may be best to use it by a certain date. It's to cover the shop in case of possible food poisoning. If you eat it before and get sick you would complain to the shop. If you eat it after and get sick, you cannot complain.

The food is still edible after a 'best before' date, it's up to you to use your common sense. Sniff it, look closely at it, poke it, squeeze it. If you think you might not use something in your fridge before the date, freeze it as it is, if possible.

'Use by' is telling you to use it by that date. It's up to you whether you do or not. Stock rotation is the best way to check cupboards, fridges, and freezers. Pull all the short dated food to the front and use it first.
Ilona

dlusman

kayester wrote: »

my mince says best before? how is that confusing?

If you bought this as fresh - which I am assuming it was as you are storing it in the fridge rather than in the freezer - then it is incorrectly ( illegally ? ) labelled

notanewuser

Ilona wrote: »

'Best before' is advisory, it's telling you it may be best to use it by a certain date. It's to cover the shop in case of possible food poisoning. If you eat it before and get sick you would complain to the shop. If you eat it after and get sick, you cannot complain.

The food is still edible after a 'best before' date, it's up to you to use your common sense. Sniff it, look closely at it, poke it, squeeze it. If you think you might not use something in your fridge before the date, freeze it as it is, if possible.

'Use by' is telling you to use it by that date. It's up to you whether you do or not. Stock rotation is the best way to check cupboards, fridges, and freezers. Pull all the short dated food to the front and use it first.
Ilona

I don't think that's quite right. Best before is never used on food that could cause food poisoning. It should be because whatever it is is likely to be best before xxxxxx but not in edible afterwards. So biscuits might go a bit soft, but they won't kill you past the best before date.

~Chameleon~

kayester wrote: »

my mince says best before? how is that confusing?

If your mince is fresh then it certainly won't say "best before", it will say "use by". There's a vast difference. Best before dates are used on items such as dried and tinned goods as a guideline of when to eat them buy to ensure optimum quality. They certainly don't deteriorate the moment that date is passed by and many items can safely be consumed for a year or two, or even longer, past that date.

Whereas, use by dates are used to warn you that if you exceed the date on a fresh food item (meat, poultry, fish, dairy, cooked foods etc) then you risk food poisoning from the growing levels of bacteria. This of course assumes you haven't frozen the item prior to use which will extend it's use-by date but only by the number of days it's actually in the freezer and will need to be used immediately upon defrosting.

A good way to remember is that almost everything in your fridge will have a use-by date whereas the majority of stuff in your store cupboard will have a best before date.

[Deleted User]

notanewuser wrote: »

What would you be risking? It's not advised to eat things free their "use by" date (generally found on fresh food) but "best before" dates can be freely ignored. I've just bought 30kg of our of date coffee beans. They're vacuum packed so will keep perfectly for at least another 18 months and I got them for a fifth of the normal price!!

Wow that an awful lot of coffee beans isn't it How much did they cost ??? I love coffee but I buy ground coffee and decent stuff costs me a fortune

DPJames

Last year my mother found a can of Heinz beans that were 27 years past their 'best before' date. We opened them, cooked them, served them on toast with cheese and brown sauce, and guess what? They were delish!
Since then I've ignored the dates on everything except fresh fruit, veg and meat, perishable stuff.