Is the 'date' to eat by, use by etc. more confusing than helpful?

[Deleted User]

I'm wondering just how useful the guidance dates are on the food we buy these days. Last week on the same day I bought a bunch of perfectly edible bananas that had a label on saying 'not ripe until the 6th December', I got them on the 4th and they were absolutely fine. I also from the same shop bought two reduced pineapples which had a label on them saying 'use by 4th December' the day I bought them, they were still hard and green and very far from ripe, in fact we still have one of them on the window sill gradually ripening and the lady on the till was adamant that I HAD to use them the day I bought them or they would go 'off'! In a time when we are all trying to cut down on food waste are these guidance labels doing more harm then good?

Farway

Like many rules, they are for guidance of the wise and observance by fools

I guess it depends on how seasoned & knowledgeable the buyer is, common sense will guide most MSErs but perhaps someone who has never fared on their own, like a student or newly wed needs a bit of a clue

Personally I ignore most, and ignore all where veg or fruit is concerned

AndyCF

It is confusing sometimes I'll admit at there's potentially

"Display Until" = Generally ignore (unless its the only date showing) as this is intended for the shop display really

"Best Before" = As it says its best/nicest before but probably OK for a bit after. I think this one causes the most confusion as people (myself included!) are not always sure how long after this date things are safe for...

"Use By" = This is the one I tend to stick to as its meant to (as I understand it) be the 'safe limit'

I realise there are tolerances in all these though.

AndyCF

Meant to add, I guess as stated common sense is the best guide. Something I sometimes lack food-wise, despite my best efforts.

I'd personally not want to risk say "cooked meats" (the chilled supermarket packed ones, you know the 6/8/12 slices of whatever) more than a day past their 'date. Overcautious maybe though but I don't know *shrugs*

But myself I'd have no qualms in say eating a bag of crisps a few weeks past its "date" or having one of those 'instant cup soup's either...

Farway

AndyCF wrote: »

Meant to add, I guess as stated common sense is the best guide. Something I sometimes lack food-wise, despite my best efforts.

I'd personally not want to risk say "cooked meats" (the chilled supermarket packed ones, you know the 6/8/12 slices of whatever) more than a day past their 'date. Overcautious maybe though but I don't know *shrugs*

But myself I'd have no qualms in say eating a bag of crisps a few weeks past its "date" or having one of those 'instant cup soup's either...

You are probably right on the cooked meat slices, but I never buy them so it is one I can forget about

[Deleted User]

I ignore most of them too and use the nose test and common sense but the not ripe until information was something new I'd not seen before and I wondered if anyone actually did take it seriously on bananas that were lovely and yellow and ripe two days earlier? The most worrysome thing was the cashier who was ADAMANT that the pineapples had to be used on the day they the sell by date was on the label being rather forceful and pressing her point about them not being fit to eat on the 5th, the day after the label date. Being of a somewhat older generation I can ignore things like that but I wonder how many folks are taking notice and throwing out perfectly good food that could be eaten?

AndyCF

Farway wrote: »

You are probably right on the cooked meat slices, but I never buy them so it is one I can forget about

Its not too often I do simply as I can't get half decent locally very often, it just seemed a sensible example to post.

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Being of a somewhat older generation I can ignore things like that but I wonder how many folks are taking notice and throwing out perfectly good food that could be eaten?

Quite a lot from what I read lately , 10m tonnes:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-41973919/what-s-causing-britain-s-food-waste/

Bit more info here regarding better labelling:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42159434/

Talking of which there was a bag of potato's I saw the other day with a 'use by' on them. I did not buy them but as the pack was half clear it would be pretty obvious when to use them or not. I don't think having them 'on display' in a brightly lit area does their storage life much good, I tend to keep them in a dark bag in the pantry.

YorksLass

Farway wrote: »

Like many rules, they are for guidance of the wise and observance by fools

I guess it depends on how seasoned & knowledgeable the buyer is, common sense will guide most MSErs but perhaps someone who has never fared on their own, like a student or newly wed needs a bit of a clue

Personally I ignore most, and ignore all where veg or fruit is concerned

Totally agree. :T Common sense is the best guide of all.

You're correct Andy, the Display Until date is intended for shop staff use only - but I understand these should be being phased out now, so eventually there will only be the Best Before or Use By dates on packaging.

Best Before - It's still edible but might not be as good a quality, although I've never found any problem with using stuff (especially dried or packet goods) that's gone past the BBE date. And I definitely ignore it where fruit & veg is concerned. I currently have 4 carrots in my fridge that have a BBE date of 30 Oct - they're not bendy yet! And if/when they get to that stage, they can go in a soup or casserole.

Use By - This is the important one, especially on fresh foods like dairy, fish, meat etc. That said, when housewives didn't have fridges or freezers, they used their eyes and noses to determine if something was safe to eat, something I still do. If it doesn't look or smell right, then I'd chuck it even if it was still within date. Doesn't happen often though as, if I know I can't use something in time, I will cook/portion/freeze and so have hm "ready meals" for those CBA days.

Back to OP's original question: I think guidance labels have a lot to answer for!

caronc

The only one I tend to pay any attention to is "Use by". Apart from seafood if looks/smells ok I will go over the "Use by", use with x of opening quite happily for most things like dairy, bacon etc. and pay no attention to it for things like cheese, fruit and veg. If it doesn't look/smell ok I don't care if it is within date it's ditched.
"Best before" I tend to ignore especially for tins & packets. I think it can be handy to make sure I rotate stock but I would never ditch something just because it had reached/passed the date
"Display until" I only look at if in a shop and want the most recent stock.
I do think the system is unnecessarily complicated especially if you aren't a confident shopper/cook. Years ago I came home to a horrible smell, my ex who wasn't the best or most confident in the kitchen was clearly cooking "off" chicken breasts but had gone ahead even though they were well in date. I dread to think what it might have tasted like and how ill we'd of been if it had been eaten!

wort

There has been much in the press lately about this, and I actually saw one column not sure who or what paper as I read it at work,and he was saying the same principles as I use. If cheese goes mouldy cut off the mould and eat that potatoes are fine if you cut off eyes and sprouting bits. Tins unless dented can be kept and used years past the date. He said pineapples are ready to eat when you buy them and bananas can still be eaten when black. I definitely use my senses look and smell test.carrots that are bendy can still be thrown in a stew. I tend to freeze peppers and mushrooms if I know they are looking like going off.

GreyQueen

On Wednesday and Thursday just past I ate a pan fried pork loin steak. Two from the one pack, one each night. I'd bought them on YS the previous Sunday and their use-by was Sunday 3rd.

They looked fine, they smelled fine and they tasted damned fine. Not a teeny-tiny twinge indicated that my gut bacteria were at all unhappy with the contents of my digestive tract and, as you can tell, it's now Saturday evening and I ain't deid yet.:rotfl:

The only time I have ever had bad meat was liver and it was two days before its use-by date. Opened that packet and thought it smelled a bit 'off' but hey, the pkt was in date. So I cooked it, still smelled a bit 'off' and served it and started chewing a mouthful and then had to spit it out as my gorge was rising and I was about to vomit.

The well-in-date liver was off and several million years' worth of evolution had my senses telling me that it was dangerous to eat it and I should stop trying to do so asap. So much for date labelling, hey?

I eat meat and fish past its use-by date a few times a month and haven't noticed any ill-effects yet.