Will this flour be ok?

sb44

I bought a 1.5kg bag of Hovis Wholemeal Bread flour today for 39p as the use by date is May 2008.

Do you think I should freeze it first before I use it in case there are any beasties in it?

At this price would it be worth buying more and freezing it?

I pay 89p for Tesco brown bread flour so of course this is a bargain if it is going to be ok.

I also got a couple of bags of Hovis White Seeded 1kg too for 39p but the use by date is November 2008.

Ephemera

Don't keep it. A use by date is there for your safety!!!!

Best before dates are advisory, it is usually safe to keep food past that date, it will just deteriorate in quality. Use by is to protect you - there are a lot of beasties in flour so best not to keep it too long after it's sell by...

HTH

Ephemera

Freezing flour - it depends on how long you plan to keep it for.... remember it costs you money every day to keep it frozen. Fractions of a penny, but still money. If you have a cavernous freezer that has lots of room then go for it. If you will have to make space for the flour you are probably better off using the precious room for better bargains - if you and your family eat meat then reduced joints / mince, etc would probably be a more economical use of freezer room!

sb44

Just been to double check the date and it's ' Best Before May 2008 ' not use by.

Pitlanepiglet

I'd probably use it, I'd freeze each bag for a couple of days to kill of any nasties that might be in it (to avoid infecting anything else) and then I'd probably keep each bag in an airtight container or a plastic bag to avoid any problems and then use it swiftly.

pigpen

Of course you should use it.. I've just used a bag from the back of the cupboard which was February this year.. I haven't killed anyone.. it is flour.. mashed up grass seeds!!!! it isn't going to breed anything nasty.. apart from weevils.. which are of great nutritional value.. totally harmless and completely invisible when roasted!!

Surely you can use 1 bag of flour between now and the end of May.. I go through at least 6 bags a week..

belfastgirl23

If you're worried you can always sieve before use. Personally it would need to be at least 3 months out of date before I'd start to worry...

If you are concerned though you could always make the bread and freeze it?