Use By Dates - truthful or not ?

A2Z · 10 Feb 2006 at 12:28

I never touch food past its sell/use by date

apart from things like bread, or a chocolate muffin yummm where i can still tell if its ok to eat or not by seeing how hard it is, so i do sometimes go one day over for them.

i know nothing · 10 Feb 2006 at 12:53

Dolph said:
Use by dates are ultimately there to protect the food manufacturer from being sued. They are only a guideline as to the expected life of the food, but more than that they are the manufacturer saying "We say the food will be safe for this long, after that you're on your own"

Exactly, nothing to do with profit, everything to do with protecting yourself (as a Company) from consumers.

cheets64 · 10 Feb 2006 at 12:54

For the sake of buying it again or getting somthing for half price its not worth it. Unless your a smack head you dont need to buy out of date stuff.

Seeing people fighting over the cheap reduce date shelve in Tesco and Asda is shocking.

Pinkeyes · 10 Feb 2006 at 13:01

i know nothing said:
Exactly, nothing to do with profit, everything to do with protecting yourself (as a Company) from consumers.

See I agree. But I think *some* products have a lot shorter length of use-by than they need to, but I am refering to those items that have a long shelf life in the first place.

So something that is said to last 1 week, probably last 7-10 days. Thats down to personel preference.

Some (but not all) products that lasts 12 months, probably in fact last 2 years, but they want to encourage sales... so they encourage you to replace it.

I bought some powdered english mustard. Thats had around a 4 month use by date - 4 months - surely that lasts a whole lot longer than that ! (this is when my theory started to take shape)

Pinkeyes · 10 Feb 2006 at 13:03

i know nothing said:
Exactly, nothing to do with profit, everything to do with protecting yourself (as a Company) from consumers.

I usually stay away from those shelves too - I try to buy only what I go in for.
I did however buy some dramatically reduced bottles of beer from our local co-op not long ago. I wanted beer anyway, so I thought, why not.
I actually think I enjoyed them a whole lot more knowing they were half the price they should have been....

Dolph · 10 Feb 2006 at 13:05

It probably will last a lot longer than that. However what the company are saying is that if you eat it after that date and it makes you ill, you have no comeback on them.

It really isn't to do with profit, it's to do with the legal issues (which could be horrendously expensive)

cheets64 · 10 Feb 2006 at 13:09

Pinkeyes said:
I did however buy some dramatically reduced bottles of beer from our local co-op not long ago. I wanted beer anyway, so I thought, why not.
I actually think I enjoyed them a whole lot more knowing they were half the price they should have been....

I bought some lager from somerfield, one of the bottles had smashed so it was on the shelve for half the price minus 1 bottle

If i know some food is out of date, i know i wont be able to eat it, i will just keep thinking, this does not taste right.

kiwi · 10 Feb 2006 at 13:10

chimaera said:
I always wondered why jam has the lable, 'keep refridgerated when opened, use within 6 weeks', when jam has been used as a preserve for a lot longer than fridges have been around.

I've left it in my cupboard after its been opened for ages and its never gone off.

just opened my pot of jam from my uni cupboard today which has been there since the start of term (sept) and has been used moderately to find a layer of fur on it. so now you know...

Vonhelmet · 10 Feb 2006 at 13:14

chimaera said:
I always wondered why jam has the lable, 'keep refridgerated when opened, use within 6 weeks', when jam has been used as a preserve for a lot longer than fridges have been around.

I've left it in my cupboard after its been opened for ages and its never gone off.

My wife is used to keeping jam in the fridge, which seems weird to me, as when I lived with my parents it always just stayed in the cupboard. Only time it goes mouldy is when someone puts a load of butter and toast in with a used knife! We only put it in the fridge when the ants came marching in.

Vonhelmet · 10 Feb 2006 at 13:16

kiwi said:
just opened my pot of jam from my uni cupboard today which has been there since the start of term (sept) and has been used moderately to find a layer of fur on it. so now you know...

Take the fur off with a spoon. The stuff underneath will still be good. Same as you can cut the mould off cheese and not worry.

Ugley_Matt · 10 Feb 2006 at 13:17

Scrape the fur off and eat the rest, same with mouldy cheese, cut the mould off and the rest is fine.

My rule of thumb is, if it looks ok, smells ok and tastes ok then it probably is ok. Think about it, why would a food company that wants to sell you stuff say that this product will last for 6 months when they could sell you 6 lots instead.

I dont follow/believe the hype put out by the cleaning companies that make people think they are living in a baterial paradise and have to disinfect every single surface. Its strange how people dont realise that the people that are telling you to use anti-bactierial soap etc are the people that are making and selling it!

Takhisis · 10 Feb 2006 at 13:20

I'm sure that I read/watched something about how mould grows - it actually starts inside so when you take to top off you're still leaving all the "roots". Pretty sure this was in relation to bread but I would imagine its the same for other foods if its correct

And even knowing this I still cut it off

Vonhelmet · 10 Feb 2006 at 13:23

Takhisis said:
I'm sure that I read/watched something about how mould grows - it actually starts inside so when you take to top off you're still leaving all the "roots". Pretty sure this was in relation to bread but I would imagine its the same for other foods if its correct

And even knowing this I still cut it off

That's only related to the mould you get on bread. If your bread is mouldy you should chuck the whole lot, especially as it gets spores everywhere.

Mould on jam and cheese is different - it grows on the surface. It's kinda like how you only need to lightly cook a steak because the bacteria is only on the outside, not in the centre.

Scam · 10 Feb 2006 at 14:32

vonhelmet said:
That's only related to the mould you get on bread. If your bread is mouldy you should chuck the whole lot, especially as it gets spores everywhere.

Mould on jam and cheese is different - it grows on the surface. It's kinda like how you only need to lightly cook a steak because the bacteria is only on the outside, not in the centre.

I didnt know that. Does it go for vegetables etc? I often just look at veg to check its ok. If it looks ok, i go for it. Is that ok? Say throwing away one runner bean with a bit of funny stuff/mould on it and using the rest? Is that safe?

I found a tin of fruit in syrup that has a use by of Dec 2005. Dunno whether to eat it or not

fatiain · 10 Feb 2006 at 14:35

Scam said:
I found a tin of fruit in syrup that has a use by of Dec 2005. Dunno whether to eat it or not

Eat it you girl.

Vonhelmet · 10 Feb 2006 at 14:45

Scam said:
I didnt know that. Does it go for vegetables etc? I often just look at veg to check its ok. If it looks ok, i go for it. Is that ok? Say throwing away one runner bean with a bit of funny stuff/mould on it and using the rest? Is that safe?

If the rest look alright then it shouldn't be a problem.

Scam said:
I found a tin of fruit in syrup that has a use by of Dec 2005. Dunno whether to eat it or not

Dec 2005? Good grief, that's nothing! Barely two months! Especially not for a tin of fruit in syrup. I'd happily eat that after two years.

fatiain · 10 Feb 2006 at 14:52

I drank a can of lager that was 4 years past it's sell by date, it was a bit cloudy but didn't do me any harm.

*jitter*

*shake*

*spasm*

Scam · 10 Feb 2006 at 15:38

vonhelmet said:
Dec 2005? Good grief, that's nothing! Barely two months! Especially not for a tin of fruit in syrup. I'd happily eat that after two years.

Bah

geiger · 10 Feb 2006 at 16:26

I tried to eat a chocolate liquer with a best before 2002, it wasnt totally gross because it was foil wrapped but it was pretty solidified. I chucked it out after a nibble

You do have to be carefull with some foods, meat would be the main one I think. If you overcook it to be on the safe side then the worst that will happen is it will taste bad

Treefrog · 11 Feb 2006 at 07:02

cheets64 said:
For the sake of buying it again or getting something for half price it's not worth it. Unless you're a smack head you don't need to buy out of date stuff.

Knickers! For example if you've had an unexpected expense, or lost your wallet and only have the change in your pocket. Or you've had to spend most of your Giro on heating over the last couple of weeks? And tbh its more to do with having a decent meals rather than beans on toast. So what if it turns into deadly poison at midnight? It's going to be eaten in about an hour anyway!
I'm not a smack head btw.

cheets64 said:
Seeing people fighting over the cheap reduce date shelves in Tesco and Asda is shocking.

Actual fighting?