Do you eat foods that are past their expiration dates?
Len Penzo thinks many people are wasting their hard-earned money tossing out perfectly good food because they take expiration dates at face value.
He admits that he trawls the aisles for discounts on items about to expire, and relies on his senses to judge when something seems to be a bit off.
When in doubt, he consults StillTasty, a site dedicated to helping consumers decide whether to keep it or toss it. Simply search for the food or beverage in question, indicate how long you’ve had it and whether it has been opened, and you’ll find out if you can safely chow down.
The only products that should always be eaten before the date on a label are the ones with an expires on warning, Penzo maintains. Otherwise, it becomes a judgment call, he believes.
Thing is, Mr. Penzo lives in the United States, whereas you probably do most of your eating on this side of the border.
In that case, you're better of checking out what the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has to say about the difference between expiry and best before dates.
The only foods that the Canadian government insists must have expiration dates are infant formula, meal replacements and nutritional supplements, largely because the vitamins in these foods can deteriorate, rendering them pretty much useless.
In Canada, best before dates are required on foods that will keep fresh for 90 days or less.
In many instances though, a best before date says little about the safety of a food after that date -- just that it may not provide the taste experience you expect. Foods may have lost some of their flavour and their texture may have changed, for instance.
Where do you draw the line when it comes to best before dates? Do buy discounted goods that are close to the edge?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: SP | Jan 25, 2022 11:04:21 PM
I am one of those foolish people who thinks that it is cheaper to throw out food that is past it's expiration date than it is to risk getting food poisoning and miss a week from work or die.
Then again, I also wear my seatbelt and purchase travel insurance, so really, what do I know?
Posted by: John | Jan 26, 2022 3:37:59 PM
I always eat food that is past its due date. I am 57, and have been doing this all of my liffe, and I am proud to say that I have never been sick (except for Chicken Pox when I was 17). I can also drink the tap water in Mexico, Dominca Repubic, etc, without any problem whhatsoever. When I was growing up, my parents NEVER threw out food, since they experienced starvation during WWII in Europe and had to eat rotting animals on the streets while fleeing from the Russians. When meat went bad, we still ate it. NOBODY EVER GOT SICK, EVER! My only rule about eating expired food is, if it the taste is repulsive, then I throw it out. Meat is never thrown out, in fact, letting game meat rot makes it so much better. Food poisoning my A$$. Don't tell me that I have just been lucky that I haven't had food poisoning yet, because I don't believe in luck... especially after 57 years! By the way, I am a doctor.
Posted by: 1shotj | Jan 27, 2022 7:28:55 AM
Grocery store meat is almost never aged properly. When you by a roast of beef it should have very little to no blood in the packaging. I will seek out the discounted(shelf aged) meat as it is the best tasting and most tender.
Posted by: Jude | Jan 27, 2022 11:45:53 AM
I tend to be very careful with chicken or fish always cleaning well after eating. I cut out the bad spots infruit or veggies. I cut the mold off cheeses because I am picky. I eat anything without molds or clearly scrape it off; Like yogurt. Anything suspect or leftovers. I male sure it boils and skim off any thing that bubbles to the top. I never eat rancid food often you can tell by smell but if indoubt I taste it. I donot eat rancid food,especially oils . I don't eat anything that does not rot. it clearly isn't a food. Kitchen scraps can be boiled for stocks and so can bones. If all the wasted food was eating there would be a lot less starvation and obesity.Pickled and salted foods keep a long time. You can always freeze or dry.
Posted by: brenda | Jan 27, 2022 1:51:52 PM
best before refers to the date the food must be off the retailers shelf, not the date it must be consumed by. salmonela and e coli will be in the fresh meat or even contaminated produce and will be destroyed by thorough cooking and never using the plates and utensil you used for the raw product to put the cooked item on until it has been washed/bleached. botulism on the other hand is from improperly processed vegetables and will proliferate only in closed containers in the absence of oxygen, which is why when the president of the organic food company said that the people who got botulism from his smoothies probably hadn't stored it properly he didn't know what he was talking about. All of the above will be in the product from the beginning and you can get just as sick from fresh meat as you can from spoiled, aging or rotting won't cause food poisoning. I've had dinner with British folks who won't touch their meat until we consider it long gone, and didn't have a single tummy rumble