How long beyond its "BBE" or "USE BY" date can we eat jarred or canned foodstuffs?

suki1964

My rule of thumb with tins and jars are if the lid has blown, throw it, if the tin has a sharp crease or rust, throw it, otherwise it gets used

Im still using a gallon of soya sauce, bbe 1999

badger09

Authoritative info here:
https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/best-before-and-use-by-dates

I wouldn't risk anything in jars or tins more that a couple of weeks beyond its 'Use by' date as it might very well cause food poisoning, and smell/taste won't necessarily alert you.

'Best Before' however is another matter. I've used many items past their BB dates and some of my herbs & spices are years past their BB dates. For food in tins and jars past BB dates, as long as the container is as it should be, I use the look, sniff & taste test. Anything discoloured, 'fizzy', or which smells strange gets binned. But I tend to rotate stocks so I don't get many of these.

Must start working my way through the 6 tubes of Wasabi paste I brought back from my last visit to my son in Hong Kong

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

suki1964 said:

My rule of thumb with tins and jars are if the lid has blown, throw it, if the tin has a sharp crease or rust, throw it

What is the threat with metal(?) touching food inside, please?  Or is the risk that there's then a puncture in the can?  I did a food hygiene course once, so should probably know this

badger09 said:

Must start working my way through the 6 tubes of Wasabi paste I brought back from my last visit to my son in Hong Kong

What will you do with it all?  I've only ever had it with sushi.

Pollycat

badger09 said:

Authoritative info here:
https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/best-before-and-use-by-dates

I wouldn't risk anything in jars or tins more that a couple of weeks beyond its 'Use by' date as it might very well cause food poisoning, and smell/taste won't necessarily alert you.

'Best Before' however is another matter. I've used many items past their BB dates and some of my herbs & spices are years past their BB dates. For food in tins and jars past BB dates, as long as the container is as it should be, I use the look, sniff & taste test. Anything discoloured, 'fizzy', or which smells strange gets binned. But I tend to rotate stocks so I don't get many of these.

Must start working my way through the 6 tubes of Wasabi paste I brought back from my last visit to my son in Hong Kong

I have to say I've not seen any tins or jars with 'use by' dates on them.

They all have BBE - best before end.

badger09

avoidtheupsidedownbottles said:

suki1964 said:

My rule of thumb with tins and jars are if the lid has blown, throw it, if the tin has a sharp crease or rust, throw it

What is the threat with metal(?) touching food inside, please?  Or is the risk that there's then a puncture in the can?  I did a food hygiene course once, so should probably know this

badger09 said:

Must start working my way through the 6 tubes of Wasabi paste I brought back from my last visit to my son in Hong Kong

What will you do with it all?  I've only ever had it with sushi.

Metal inside of tins can corrode over time and contaminate the food.

One of my favourites is baked salmon (or other fish of your choice) with a topping of Wasabi mixed with either mayonnaise or cream cheese. Top the fish fillets with a generous layer, then sprinkle breadcrumbs with a dash of lemon juice on top & bake in oven. 

Wasabi & mayonnaise mix perks up a lot of things - me included

Pollycat said:

badger09 said:

Authoritative info here:
https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/best-before-and-use-by-dates

I wouldn't risk anything in jars or tins more that a couple of weeks beyond its 'Use by' date as it might very well cause food poisoning, and smell/taste won't necessarily alert you.

'Best Before' however is another matter. I've used many items past their BB dates and some of my herbs & spices are years past their BB dates. For food in tins and jars past BB dates, as long as the container is as it should be, I use the look, sniff & taste test. Anything discoloured, 'fizzy', or which smells strange gets binned. But I tend to rotate stocks so I don't get many of these.

Must start working my way through the 6 tubes of Wasabi paste I brought back from my last visit to my son in Hong Kong

I have to say I've not seen any tins or jars with 'use by' dates on them.

They all have BBE - best before end.

Me neither, but OP was definitely asking about jars and cans with BBE dates

ToastLady

Regarding wasabi paste, other than sushi, use it to spice up some cheese. I got the idea from a wasabi cheese, which I only managed to buy once, and have never seen again. 
Use a little scraping of wasabi on a slice of buttered/mayo bread for roasted cheese, or in a toastie. It's lovely.
Mix up grated cheese, mayo and wasabi paste for a sandwich/toastie spread. You can add other things to the mix, whatever floats your boat. I like to add sliced spring onion or diced onion, bit of celery, grated carrot.
Really nice with a scraping on oatcakes/crackers before adding the topping of your choice.
A wee squirt in home made coleslaw is also really nice.

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

badger09 said:

Metal inside of tins can corrode over time and contaminate the food.

But what is the actual hazard there?  Rust itself isn't poisonous, is it.


badger09 said:

One of my favourites is baked salmon (or other fish of your choice) with a topping of Wasabi mixed with either mayonnaise or cream cheese. Top the fish fillets with a generous layer, then sprinkle breadcrumbs with a dash of lemon juice on top & bake in oven. 

ToastLady said:

Regarding wasabi paste, other than sushi, use it to spice up some cheese. I got the idea from a wasabi cheese, which I only managed to buy once, and have never seen again. 
Use a little scraping of wasabi on a slice of buttered/mayo bread for roasted cheese, or in a toastie. It's lovely.
Mix up grated cheese, mayo and wasabi paste for a sandwich/toastie spread. You can add other things to the mix, whatever floats your boat. I like to add sliced spring onion or diced onion, bit of celery, grated carrot.
Really nice with a scraping on oatcakes/crackers before adding the topping of your choice.
A wee squirt in home made coleslaw is also really nice.

Those all sound delicious!  

ariba10

As I was born and brought up before the war.
The was no such thing as Best before or Use by dates.
If it looked and smelt O K. You used it.

Pollycat

ariba10 said:

As I was born and brought up before the war.
The was no such thing as Best before or Use by dates.
If it looked and smelt O K. You used it.

That's pretty much my philosophy too.

I do think a lot of people don't understand the difference between 'use by' and 'best before'.

Another poster has put a useful link to an explanation about the difference.

I do personally consume some things that are past their 'use by' date.

Farway

avoidtheupsidedownbottles said:

badger09 said:

Metal inside of tins can corrode over time and contaminate the food.

But what is the actual hazard there?  Rust itself isn't poisonous, is it.

I think it is something to do with the chemical reaction to acid / salts in the contents and the metal, tin plate coating of the steel can

Once this related to the lead in the solder used to seal the tins but I assume nowadays lead is no longer a component, but tin may contain other nasties, not a chemist but someone else may know, apart from the Google scare stories that is