only thing I've seen with an expiry date is credit/debit card 
https://www.foodsafety.ca/blog/difference-between-best-and-expiry-dates
https://www.foodsafety.ca/blog/difference-between-best-and-expiry-dates
How do you interpret "EXP" or expiry date on food?
- Thread starter dowie
- Start date
The Food Standards Agency make no reference to the use of expiry date. Neither do the NHS.
Googling the term gives results for its use outside the UK and it's used in the same way as a use-by date.
Anecdotally, I can't find anything in my fridge or cupboards with an expiry date.
Do you have examples of food you have with an expiry date?
Last edited:
Associate
- Joined
- 4 Jun 2020
- Posts
- 2,410
I only pay attention to Chicken.
I buy UHT milk, even after 3 months of opening a bottle and leaving it in the fridge, its still perfectly intact.
I have my fridge set to 1c though.
I buy UHT milk, even after 3 months of opening a bottle and leaving it in the fridge, its still perfectly intact.
I have my fridge set to 1c though.
Yes, but where? What are you basing it on? I'm not being funny I'm just interested in the basis for the claim that it is equivalent to use by.
For example (these two cases it is used as a best before date):
Pringles have a "P" (presumably packaged) and "E" date on the base.
Complan has a "MAN" (manufacturing date) and an "EXP" date.
The other poster quoted in my post worked in a supermarket and has clearly seen it used elsewhere though, I can recall seeing it before too though I can't remember which other products
only thing I've seen with an expiry date is credit/debit card
https://www.foodsafety.ca/blog/difference-between-best-and-expiry-dates
Ah interesting, cheers - that's the sort of explanation/link I was hoping we might have for the UK - it does make a distinction between best before and expiry. Could in fact highlight a difference with complan for example - through both pringles and complan both also make reference to "best before" on the packaging.
Don't eat black mold, chicken if it smells or its green (or both) but as many say here use your instincts.
I once at a chicken the was a bit off, I roasted it and I was fine.
I also once at a beef burger that was purchased off the reduced counter, cooked from frozen on a BBQ, left out all night on a really warm summer night, and was still raw in the middle.
Again, fine.
Most things you'll be fine, but watch black mold, it can damage your liver.
I once at a chicken the was a bit off, I roasted it and I was fine.
I also once at a beef burger that was purchased off the reduced counter, cooked from frozen on a BBQ, left out all night on a really warm summer night, and was still raw in the middle.
Again, fine.
Most things you'll be fine, but watch black mold, it can damage your liver.
Soldato
- Joined
- 10 May 2004
- Posts
- 12,977
- Location
- Sunny Stafford
Obviously EXP stands for experience points in Final Fantasy VII and VIII
Caporegime
- Joined
- 22 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 28,356
- Location
- Boston, Lincolnshire
Most food will have a use by the component that has the shortest shelf life. Some products will have different UB throughout the year depending on the raw material being supplied and weather/temperature. Some product can be produced using the same raw material but because of what time it was produced could have a different UB as raw material will have an internal UB before it is out of date to be packed as production whilst still maintaining the customer shelf life.
For example say a raw material has an internal shelf life of 72 hours and an order is packed on the Monday with a UB of +8 days and then a second order using the same raw material is packed on the Wednesday with a UB of +8. It has three days extra shelf life even though it has been made using the same raw material. As most food producers pack to a forecast they hold a large amount of raw material so you have a little bit of flexibility with the final UB.
Like most of said on here though. It is mostly looking at what you are eating and using common sense.
Best before is simply to do with quality. Say crisps will stay good until X amount of days. After X amount of days they are still safe to eat but the quality will not be as good.
For example say a raw material has an internal shelf life of 72 hours and an order is packed on the Monday with a UB of +8 days and then a second order using the same raw material is packed on the Wednesday with a UB of +8. It has three days extra shelf life even though it has been made using the same raw material. As most food producers pack to a forecast they hold a large amount of raw material so you have a little bit of flexibility with the final UB.
Like most of said on here though. It is mostly looking at what you are eating and using common sense.
Best before is simply to do with quality. Say crisps will stay good until X amount of days. After X amount of days they are still safe to eat but the quality will not be as good.
Soldato
- Joined
- 27 Mar 2013
- Posts
- 9,359
That's because it already tastes rank when you open it
. Why do you have your fridge so low, seem needlessly overkill.
Associate
- Joined
- 4 Jun 2020
- Posts
- 2,410
That's because it already tastes rank when you open it
I like my drinks cold and my food kept fresh. Also UHT tastes fine if you shake it a damn lol.
Soldato
- Joined
- 27 Mar 2013
- Posts
- 9,359
Ours is set to 6 (might be the standard, mot sure), I can't imagine it keeps stuff that much fresher, most of the stock in the fridge is used every week anyway (family of 4). Strawberries sometimes go off, but I think that's to do with if they're been smashed already.
Associate
- Joined
- 4 Jun 2020
- Posts
- 2,410
What makes you think 6 is low enough?
Fridges are meant to be kept between 1 and 5c. Anything over 5 is when bacteria can start multiplying.
All that 6c does is slow down food spoilage, 1c pretty much prevents it in most foods, assuming the air in the fridge is also circulated.
Colder is obviously better for keeping food unspoilt, thats pretty much all there is to it. 1c is as low as you can go before things start turning to ice.
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 29 Nov 2008
- Posts
- 13,361
- Location
- London
^^below 8 is fine for food, 0-5 is recommended cause the temp goes up when you open the door.
Yep. Only time I pay attention to them is when I buy them. Even then. I bought some green beans yesterday that had an earlier BB than some others on the shelf. They just looked like nicer beans.
It's easy to tell if food is edible. Humans have been doing it for eons.
One thing I am slightly wary of is defrosted food. That can be a bit weird. Look, smell and taste fine, but then quickly deteriorate. I tend to defrost stuff in a microwave and pay more attention to cooking it.
And yeah, Best Before is a quality thing. I've been involved in ascertaining BB dates on food and drink. It's basically the longest date that a producer can put on a product with some evidence to prove that they've done at least some objective quality testing that the product is still as best as they expect it to be. Industries have their own specific standards, some producers are signed up, some aren't, but there are legal requirements that apply to all producers.
Usually it's done (for consumer products) with blind panel testing.
It's nothing to do with how safe it is to consume.
Last edited:
I don't pay any attention to it. I have an amazing invention that gives and instant readout of the safety of food. It's called a nose.
Also, bacteria is irrelevant if you cook the food properly. If you are a little uncertain then just cook it a bit longer.
Also, bacteria is irrelevant if you cook the food properly. If you are a little uncertain then just cook it a bit longer.
You seem to have mistakenly posted your Grindr message in this thread.
there are things that you can’t just cook and think they’re okay. Chicken and fish, if dodgy at all won’t be good for you no matter how long you cook it.
Not true. Just kill of the bacteria and it's fine. True, you don't want to cook it if it is absolutely rotten, but I assume that your nose would tell you that before you cook it. I mean I cook slightly dodgy food all the time. It's absolutely fine as long as you cook it well.