MSE Poll: Do you eat food past its best-before date?

Pollycat

mimi1234 said:

Liquids and dairy, I will always bin after the best before date.  Crisps, biscuits, packed items etc I don't because they more or less taste the same.  They might be a big soft but it's not the end of the world.  Some crisps I find taste even nicer when they are out of date.  

People tend to bring in out of date food for a guy at work (not sure why because he is on £30K+) and he snaffles the lot.  Someone once brought a loaf of bread which was going mouldy and he ate it.   To each their own and all that.  

Doesn't most dairy have 'use by' dates rather than 'best before'? Milk and cream certainly does.

Crisps and biscuits have 'best before' dates.

There's a big difference between the 2.

od244051

I ignore dates. I use the sniff test. Eggs are fine 10 days after the date. Clearing out one of my cupboards and noticed that the unopened boxes of Oxo cubes were dated Feb 2019. No idea on the dates on the loose ones in the stock cube jar.

GaleSF63

od244051 said:

I ignore dates. I use the sniff test. Eggs are fine 10 days after the date. Clearing out one of my cupboards and noticed that the unopened boxes of Oxo cubes were dated Feb 2019. No idea on the dates on the loose ones in the stock cube jar.

I think the only thing that happens to Oxo cubes is that they get a bit more difficult to crumble and that doesn't happen for a long time. I don't know the date of mine as I put them in a tin, but I'm pretty sure some of them have been there a good few years, certainly the chicken ones, and they are still fine - but a bit hard! 

Most things with high concentrations of salt - or sugar - will go on for ever. 

JaneDoeJohnDoe

Use by - no
Best before - yes use

mike95

A few of my friends and some of my family have had disagreements about this as some people I know swear by best before and use by dates and will bin even if it is one day out no matter what it is.

I prefer checking and will try to eat most things after the date (apart from meat and eggs though I've occasionally had supermarket sausage rolls a day or two after and they have been fine).

Agree with @Debran and my parents say it as well that before the dates all you had was your own judgement. Also agree with @mimi1234 I've had some Walkers crisps 1-2 weeks after the best before date and they actually tasted nicer.

rhcp

It's also the "once opened use within 2 weeks" type of thing.  If I did that, I would be wasting about 80% of the product.  I have salad cream and ketchup that takes about a year to consume, never had a problem.

od244051

rhcp said:

It's also the "once opened use within 2 weeks" type of thing.  If I did that, I would be wasting about 80% of the product.  I have salad cream and ketchup that takes about a year to consume, never had a problem.

The manufacturers only do this to make us spend more money! Only thing I have is pesto sauce as once opened, it gets mould on it after weeks. 

jon81uk

od244051 said:

rhcp said:

It's also the "once opened use within 2 weeks" type of thing.  If I did that, I would be wasting about 80% of the product.  I have salad cream and ketchup that takes about a year to consume, never had a problem.

The manufacturers only do this to make us spend more money! Only thing I have is pesto sauce as once opened, it gets mould on it after weeks. 

I've had several things go mouldy in the fridge a few weeks after opening so its nothing to do with them trying to get people to spend more money, it is to cover them when the product does go bad.
Ketchup should be fine its loaded with vinegar and sugar. But I'd be wary on things like pesto and other sauces they go mouldy really easily. Salsa also really doesn't keep once opened and I didn't spot the mould until I squirted it out!

Pollycat

I find olive tapenade can go mouldy once opened, even kept in the fridge.

Not all types - I buy different brands when on holiday in Greece.

Frogletina

I wish you could buy smaller portions. You can buy jams in small jars and jam lasts for years, so why not things like mayonnaise and pesto, even if you had to buy them in pack of 4?