‘Use Within’ Instructions

HouseMartin567

A comment on the Aldi/Lidl thread got me thinking, which ‘use within X weeks’ instructions do you abide by? 

I only noticed the other day that our ketchup says ‘use within 8 weeks’ and I’ve had it in the fridge for about 6 months.

The tartare sauce advises 4 weeks. It tends to take me 8 weeks to get through a small jar and has never made me ill.

Is there anyone that strictly adheres to the instructions?

DullGreyGuy

Depends on the product, non-dairy based sauces, jams, etc then absolutely not but will check for mould/sniff test before eating it if it's been a while. 

We buy a few hot sauces from small producers and a lot of them have a fairly short date on them. Their problem is they have to get testing done on it to prove its safe after X weeks and thats done by the testers storing it for X weeks and then testing it. So if you make a new recipe sauce and want to say its good for 6 months you aint selling any of it for 7 months but say its a month you can get it making money soon. 

Nothing illegal of putting shorter dates on things and hence the approach. That said, the really good ones rarely last the 4 weeks on the label before they're gone. 

El_Torro

It's not always about the health risk. Food companies don't just test for that, they also test for how "good" the product tastes. Whether it tastes bad weeks after being opened is subjective of course. Taking ketchup as an example I wouldn't worry too much about it being poisonous, the amount of salt and sugar in it should keep it safe for a long time. 

As DullGreyGuy says there's also an incentive to the manufacturer to get you to consume the product quickly. Does anyone really believe that cheese goes off 3 days after opening?

MrsStepford

I don't buy supermarket ketchup, mayo, tartare sauce, rouille, béarnaise, aïoli etc anymore. They are usually made with industrially processed rapeseed or sunflower oil plus maize starch, emulsifiers etc. 

I would adhere to use by dates for cheeses made with raw milk and for yoghurt and kefir. Also for fermented foods without preservatives or vinegar. 

Pesto has a tendency to get mouldy even before the use by date. We scrape the sides down into the jar after use and add a thin layer of olive oil.

PLRFD

I’ve used hot pepper sauce years after opening.

pseudodox

Look, sniff, taste.  Yes the flavour of something might reduce in intensity but it can be perfectly usable.  Tartare sauce in my fridge is dated use by July 2023, horseradish sauce August 2016.  I recently found a jar of tahini at the back of a cupboard dated 2010.  The hummus I used it in has not killed me!  I was brought up to slice mold off cheese & scrape it off the top of home-made jam (which has a shorter shelf life without commercial additives).  I am still here & cannot recall ever having an upset stomach.