why does a stir fry veg mix have a use by and not a best before?

lindseykim13

few nights ago i went to cook a stir fry with a bag of mix ie. beansprouts, cabbage etc and noticed that it had a use by date of 2 days before. i guessed being veggies as long as they didn't look rotting they'd be fine so we ate them. now i'm wondering why they would put that on the bag any ideas?

M.E.

I find beansprouts "go off" fairly quickly, whereas the other vegetables in a stir fry don't.
I tend to only buy "reduced" bean sprouts if I am eating them that day, whereas other vegetables I will buy when reduced and quite happily store them.
I have several cut green beens reduced to 20p, which were bought 2 days ago and we will use them today. From experience the bean sprouts wouldn't have lasted.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

I agree with M.E.the beansprouts go all slimy and fizzy and spoil the other veg.I only ever buy beansprouts at the earliest the day before I use them.

Gingernutmeg

Veg packed in bags tends to have been washed in quite heavily chlorinated water and is often packed with some preservative gas too so maybe there are rules about how long veg can be kept in these conditions? Bagged salads and veg have been linked with some cases of food poisoning so I'm wondering if having a use by date on them is just another way of supermarkets protecting themselves.

natman

Hi. I feel all nerdy about this but would like to say I saw a TV Programme about this topic.
Used before date is a date that is very important. It normally comes on food which 'goes off' / becomes dangerous to eat and could cause illness for example - many dairy products, pre packed sandwiches ' fresh food', eggs and fruit and veg.
the programme highlight it was very dangerous to go over a USED BY Date due to someone becoming ill.

Best before date is the manufacturer's date when they suggest that the product would be better eaten for quality purposes. eg cereal, biscuits, crisps. if you went over this date a little your health would be ok, but the product would not be as nice - i.e the cereal and biscuits may not be crispy.

There endeth my very nerdy post.

Hawthorn

I often use eggs past their use by date. A golden rule for checking eggs - get a bowl of water. Put eggs in it. If the eggs float, discard them, they are off. If they stand on end, they need eating ASAP. If they are just nicely sat on the bottom, they are fine.
Eggs last way past their use by if they're stored in the fridge.

pookienoodle

Gingernutmeg wrote: »

Veg packed in bags tends to have been washed in quite heavily chlorinated water and is often packed with some preservative gas too so maybe there are rules about how long veg can be kept in these conditions? Bagged salads and veg have been linked with some cases of food poisoning so I'm wondering if having a use by date on them is just another way of supermarkets protecting themselves.

this is correct,unless its packed in a protected atmosphere there is a risk of Listeria.
common sense should prevail though.
for example food is passed its used by date at midnight,suppose you start to eat it at 11.59 but don't finish till 12.01 ?
will it kill you?
always use caution when pregnant women,the elderly,children and those with compromised immune systems are consuming.

lindseykim13

well they all looked ok and were cooked, we are broke so had no choice but to eat them to be honest lol luckily we didn't get food poisoning as it was 3 days ago now. I won't bother with stir fry in the future as i had only bought them the day before always seem to have a rubbish date on. Didn't realise they did anything other than wash and pack the veg. Will avoid it anyway now if they have put anything else it there.