Food safety

goodgodthatonesevenbigger

This topic always amuses me.

When it comes to best befores and use bys i scratch my head in wonderment (is that a word?). Who actually told the food in question that at midnight on a particular date it must start going bad?

In general theres only three things you need to know when it comes to the question "is this fit to eat" Sight, Smell, Taste.

If it looks funny in the packet - Bin it
If it smells funny - Bin it
If it tastes funny when you try it - Bin it

I have personally eaten yogurts a month past their use by date with no ill effects. I have also had yogurts a week before their use by date and they have been off.

With food safety it all comes down to comman sense.

judi24

I am trying to empty my freezer and have come across some fish that was frozen a rather long time ago - maybe just after Christmas!! Does anyone know if it would be ok to use after so long?

I though some helpfull person on here might be able to advise

Thanks

ariba10

We have eaten fish that had been in the freezer a lot longer than that.

If it looks OK I see no problem.

(There will no doubt be some Doom and Gloom merchants about soon that will disagree)

Farway

Only frozen 9 months, that is a youngster. It will be fine, the texture may not be as good as when it was first frozen, but it certainly will not make you ill

SoniaJM

I don't see just after christmas as being long for something frozen! I wouldn't have any qualms about eating it at all. I'm pretty blase about things like that, but I probably wouldn't question it til about 18 months personally!

SUESMITH_2

it will be fine, enjoy it

zippychick

ive merged this in with food safety for you

This thread and this thread may also interest you

Zip

judi24

fish pie on the agenda! Thanks

lynzpower

goodgodthatonesevenbigger wrote: »

This topic always amuses me.

When it comes to best befores and use bys i scratch my head in wonderment (is that a word?). Who actually told the food in question that at midnight on a particular date it must start going bad?

In general theres only three things you need to know when it comes to the question "is this fit to eat" Sight, Smell, Taste.

If it looks funny in the packet - Bin it
If it smells funny - Bin it
If it tastes funny when you try it - Bin it

I have personally eaten yogurts a month past their use by date with no ill effects. I have also had yogurts a week before their use by date and they have been off.

With food safety it all comes down to comman sense.

I think you have misunderstood.

On higher risk food ( ie that will not be cooked before eating) eg sandwiches, cooked meats, cream cakes - they will all have levels of food poisioning bacteria. However, the manufacturer with food safety testing and sampling will identify the date when the levels of food poisoning bacteria will be at the level likely to cause harm - ie salmonella or listeria levels go from "not likely to do harm" to "is likely to cause harm" after the USE BY DATE. This is an expensive and complex process, that the likes of danone, muller etc have spent a lot of time on and that food inspectors will inspect the premises and processes to ensure that what is sold is safe.

If you are immunocompromised in any way then you are likely to get worse food poisioning likewise if you are ill, old particularly young or pregnant the risks can be a lot larger. You ( like me) may not suffer ill effects, but pregnant women can have miscarriages and anyone with lupus, HIV, crohns etc can really suffer.

Again, thrifty ways can help here, namely squeezing items in the freezer as they are approaching USE BY dates, and not buying them if you are not likely to eat them in time, the old rotation tips prevent this waste to the point where we seldom would eat anything past use by date. And of course when buying these sorts of things, choosing the ones with the longest dates on in the supermarket

Mould / dodgy smells are signs of food spoilage. NOT food poisoning bacteria that you cannot see/smell/ taste. Many moulds are entirely harmless ( eg blue veined cheese) whereas some may contain aflatoxin that can seriously harm you.

Best before dates are about quality, not food poisioning, so that stale packet of crisps or cream crackers wont make you ill, but they wont be at their enjoyable best. So tupperwares and tins help here in the name of old style and making sure we dont waste food.

WaxiesDargle

Hi all

last night I made a bolognese with the intention of having it tonight. It finished cooking about 10 oclock and I put it in a sealed container and left it to cool down before putting it in the fridge. However I woke up this morning to discover it was still on my worktop! I immediately put it in the fridge (around 6am)

I don't have my heating on yet, does anyone know if it is safe to eat?

thanks