Would you eat something that was past the expiration date?

[Sparkie460]

How far past the expiration date would you eat it?

[FunkyMonkee]

Yes, as long as it wasn't bad by then. A few nights ago, I made a box of Rice-A-Roni that was expired last summer. I've eaten dozens of eggs that were a few months past expiration. In some cases, the outer bits might be bad but the innards are still good so, I'll cut away the bad stuff and eat the rest.
As I mentioned to someone else here yesterday, when dad was still a kid, grandma used to clean out the fridge once a month and if anything had mold on it or was going bad, she'd cut off the bad bits and toss the rest into a pot and feed it to the family as a stew. Except for Grandpap and uncle Chuce, who both died of a heart attack in their 70's, they all lived well into their 80's and 90's.

[Sparkie460]

If it has mold on it I won't bother cutting it off, it goes in the garbage. I just hate wasting food

[FunkyMonkee]

So do I, in both cases, except for things like bread. I just got a loaf a little over a week ago and it was already starting to go moldy on me a few days ago so, I picked off all the mold I could find and made toast out of the rest and had that for breakfast with tea.
I've already made and eaten hamburgers out of ground meat that was getting sticky and JUST starting to smell.

[Sparkie460]

Bread lasts longer in the freezer. It usually lasts about a month.

[FunkyMonkee]

I have no room in my freezers. This Spring, I'm gonna HAVE to go through them again and get rid of the shit my aunt left in there and that I'm not gonna eat.

[Sparkie460]

I'm sure you'll have room after you clean it out

[FunkyMonkee]

I'm sure I will! But, about 2 months ago, I had a pack of hamburger buns in the fridge and they still got moldy after about a month. I never even got to use them! THAT was a waste of money!! I've also had bread stored in a freezer for a good while and, when I took it out and let it thaw, it got gooey from the water that collected in it over the time it was in the freezer. It's about the same as pouring water on a slice of bread.

[Sparkie460]

I take enough bread , hamburger or hot dog buns out to use for a sandwich or whatever I'm making. It thaws in a couple minutes. I've got a loaf in the freezer now that I bought 2 months ago. It's perfectly fine, almost gone but fine

[exitseven]

if it passes the sniff test.

[Sparkie460]

Sniff sniff, head tilt, shoulder shrug , give it a taste, good to eat 😋

[exitseven]

Thanks for the MHO

[Sparkie460]

You're welcome

[Smashingdoozy]

There is a difference between the different labels.

We have best before dates which means this item is best consumed before this date but it will be consumable for a while after (depending on the product years after). Use your best judgement does it look fine? Does it smell fine?

Use by dates are a bit different, these are typically applied to things like meats. Follow these a bit more strictly, though you can still use your best judgement (smell and sight). But it's likely that after the use by date it is unsafe to consume.

[Sparkie460]

If it looks and smells good, it's good to eat

[mandyfire98]

I think like maybe 2 weeks. Possibly if it's like canned.

[Sparkie460]

Canned stuff is still good after a year or two

[mandyfire98]

I get paranoid

[Sparkie460]

You can feed it to me. I'll be your guinea pig. I eat expired stuff. I hate throwing food out

[mandyfire98]

I like how you almost made it sound like some sort of second job lol

[Sparkie460]

How did I do that 😳

[mandyfire98]

By saying like feed it to me, I eat expired food. It kind of came off like it's your thing haha

[Sparkie460]

We used to buy in bulk when my kids were living with us. They moved out in March and July. We have so much food now since my wife and I don't eat a lot. The food is going past the expiration date. I just can't throw out all that food so we're eating it.

[mandyfire98]

You're gonna have to binge eat.

[Astarlessnightsky]

Sure. As long as its not bad you can eat it. Sometimes months after the expiration date.

[Sparkie460]

Exactly

[DJB72]

"Expired" dates are often just there to create waste and increase demand. Best example is honey - it has an "expiry" date yet they found jars of it in tombs in Egypt over 3000 years old and still perfectly fine.

My grandfather's grandfather was a sailor in the 18th Century to mid 19th century. He wrote a book about his experiences that included how in a three year trip they loaded barrels of Salted Pork at the outset that were still unused at the end and then stayed loaded for the next trip. They eventually used it and found it had been sealed eight years earlier.

Modern "preservation" techniques actually produce tons more wasted food than 200 years ago.

[purplepoppy]

I just use common sense if it's not green and smelly it's probably safe enough.

[Sparkie460]

I agree

[TheGuyWhoKnowsStuff]

You can't always see of smell salmonella but if you feed food infected with it to a dog, then they go into septic shock and die. A human? Lots of vomiting, diarrhea and possibly hospitalisation. Not something you would want to do to someone you cared about like a partner or your child. . . and if it isn't good enough for them, then why should it be good enough for you? #foodsafety

[TheGuyWhoKnowsStuff]

I will use the bread example first. I'll eat bread that has just been baked and served to me hot or cooled as per the dish. However, with some foods, that level of fresh is not an option. For example, with beef, it is acceptable for serving the day before the expiration date but not on it and certainly not after it.

[matchrestore]

That really depends on what it is. Dry pasta has an expiration date on it... Maybe it's lost some freshness somehow but it's not going to cause any harm.

Fruit and veggies are easy enough to tell if they've actually spoiled.

Meat and dairy products I'm not going to chance though.

A

[AviatorTom]

The expiration date is usually a "best if used by" date. It doesn't magically spoil after that date. Most foods can be safely eaten days, sometimes weeks, after their expiration date. Follow the simple rule... If in doubt, throw it out.

[dreamstar72]

I mainly go by looks and smell on stuff I have in our home, very rarely check the expiration dates. Strange when I buy something from stores I always check the expiration dates and look for the newest one

[Sparkie460]

Yes I do the same thing

[Apple1996]

It depends what it is. I wouldn't eat bread past the date but I might eat oatmeal past the date because dry goods don't really go bad. I'd also eat most frozen things past the date

[Sparkie460]

We make French toast with expired bread as long as it isn't moldy

[NathanDavis]

If it says expired, I will not eat it...

If the date is for Best By (fresh) I would check if there's still good indeed

But I usually don't eat these anyway...

[Sparkie460]

If it looks and smells ok I'll eat it

[NathanDavis]

lmao... a friend of mine ended in hospital for three days because of that

Hygiene is a MUST

[Sparkie460]

The soup I just had had a " best by date of 6 months ago

[NathanDavis]

lmao...

[IslaTheWitch]

It doesn't hurt to check if the food is still okay. The EXP is mostly on the safe side which means a few days more won't make any difference

[Sparkie460]

Even a few months or years on some things

[guy_123]

Yes I would, as long as it has expired recently (weeks)

[Sparkie460]

What about months? Like 12 or 18 months ago

[guy_123]

I would think about it... It depends on the products and how long it was meant to endure originally. Everything has an expire date because of legal reasons, but sometimes it is nonsense like with honey for instance. I would without a doubt consume such products even if a year has passed since it "expired".

[KittygosMeoWW]

I had two eggs this morning that were past expiration date lol didn’t know till I was looking at fridge for grocery restock and they smelled a bit weird.

[Sparkie460]

I've had eggs that were a week past their expiration date

[KittygosMeoWW]

I’m fine though

[Sparkie460]

I'm glad you didn't get sick from it

[DryGermanGuy]

If you can cook, fry or boil it, what could happen? Maybe it tastes a bit off. Food from my fridge I eat one week over expiration date all the time without problems.

[RavVid]

Would depend on the product. I would be more cautious with dairy but if the milk was OK on the expiry date yesterday I would use it today. Canned foods I'd be happy if it is out by a year.

[litty736]

I ate a snack past his expiration date and it wasn't stale at all.

[Sparkie460]

I've eaten so much food that was past the expiration date and I'm still alive. I've never gotten sick from it

[Kingofkings1992]

I will not. Expired milk can used for cooking, but that’s about it

[Sparkie460]

If expired milk doesn't have chunks in it and it still smells good, I'll use it.

[RedInnocent68]

Yes. Depends on the item. Canned, yes. Others, case by case.

[Zestyassmf1997]

Depends on the product. Cheeses? Fine. Milk? No way.

[OddBeMe]

Smell and observation tests are usually sufficient. Most likely it’s just “stale”.

[DizzyDesii]

Nooe

[Sparkie460]

Why not? It's still fine

[Anonymous]

Sur, my record were 7 year old KitKat's and they were fine

[XXblack88]

If it's past date I throw it out

[Sparkie460]

I hate throwing money away 😒

[XXblack88]

That's why I check dates before buying food I also don't buy big quantities

[Sparkie460]

Yes I check dates too, but when there's a big sale, we buy large quantities. We used to use everything up but now it's just my wife and I. 2 less mouths to feed

[laly520]

nope

won't risk it

[Sparkie460]

I do it a lot and I never get sick from it

[Miah04]

No. Put it in the trash now sparkie

[Sparkie460]

See, I'm a lunatic. If it looks and smells ok, I'm trying it.

[Sparkie460]

I just had a can of soup that expired 6 months ago

[Miah04]

🤮🤮🤮that's nasty

[Sparkie460]

Nah. It still tasted good 👍

[Miah04]

But you gonna poop your pants

[Sparkie460]

It's been a while and I still didn't poop my pants. I'd say I'll be fine.

[Miah04]

I don't know.

[Sparkie460]

I'll keep you updated. I'm sure I'll be good. I've had stuff that expired in 2020 and nothing bad happened

[Sparkie460]

Im Still fine.

[rosemilk]

nope, i don't mess with that stuff

[sheikalana]

I don't mind eating yogurt than has expired.

[CallmeTheKnight]

I will feed it to the trashcan

[Roudyrebel8]

Depends on what it is

[OtterMan68]

not chicken or pork

[Sparkie460]

You can smell when chicken and pork is going bad

[Alex-Snow]

I'm sure I have

[LRSJame]

yesss