My current partner grew up in a house where they tossed away anything that came within a week of expiry
I grew up in a house where we didn't waste anything that wasn't going to kill us
It's pretty great seeing her freak out when I eat a yogurt cup that is exactly on it's expiry date like I'm gonna get botulism
tossed away anything that came within a week of expiry
Today on "I can't fathom how people live like this"
I mean, at least they were probably vegetarian? idk Harder to buy meat that will last that long in the fridge
Nope, they had a meat freezer
Everything else was pretty much fair game for dumping
I know
Fifty pounds of meat chilling for two years = okay
Bottle of ketchup that's slightly empty = Satan
Expiry dates are probably good but best-before dates are just planned obsolescence
With how tort reform works pretty sure they can poison you and get away with it.
Unopened packaging last a while longer. As God's creatures we have been blessed with noses
You should trust your nose and common sense on most things. I would make a noted exception for meat, which can make you very sick without presenting any sign of rot or decay.
Most canned food or dry shelf stable stuff is probably going to be good past it’s expiration date by a bit, but I wouldn’t push it much depending on the item. Always good to check the pantry yearly and make sure you don’t have something shoved to the back that’s getting too old.
Depends on the product. Milk absolutely goes bad at the expiration date, but a box of Kraft noodles wouldn't change.
Best-by dates are bullshit. Expiration dates mean that they cant guarantee 100% of the product will make it past that, but like all things some will last longer than others. Use your best judgement.
Best-before dates are actually a marketing gimmick. They use focus groups to taste test products and set the best-before based on when group opinion drops the most. Product is still fine, just past its prime.
Expiry dates can generally be ignored on fresh food (you can tell with your own senses if it's expired or not based on your local storage conditions), but on canned goods definitely pay attention because they're typically marketed towards the thrifty/long-storage types who actually need that info. Expiration on drugs should also be obeyed: it indicates when a medicine is either ineffective as the active ingredient has decayed, or downright dangerous if it's decayed into something bad.
OTC medicine is usually still good for years after. Meat is usually gone a day after. The dates are as conservative as possible to avoid legal liability so for a lot of them you still have a week or two after to eat it.
Eat everything. Exception canned food that's bludging. Also maybe baby food.
Clean and cook it and you should be good.
Kinda full of shit but also depends on how you're storing stuff. A pack of meat is fine if you freeze it on or after the best before date, but if that meat is in my shitty fridge that randomly oscillates between -2 and +7 then maybe don't trust it. Most foods you can smell or see if they've gone off or not; mold is a good indicator as is a pungent smell on a food that usually has no smell. I usually don't take chances with dairy or eggs but I'll roll the dice on packaged snacks or juices.
