Would you eat these?
Fruit swirl yoghurt found at back of fridge, 2 weeks past best before date
Easter cleanout of second pantry, came across a V8 juice with BB date of sept 2017.
Do you have any rule about how far past best before date you'll still eat it?
Best Before. Use By we're pretty strict about, Best Before we generally go by smell and look and taste, but the two were cut out, respectively, than we've gone before.
Yoghurt we often push out because it just seems to get thicker and creamier.
Sniff test for a healthy adult is enough. It should depend on the item and how it was treated prior to storage. Many cheeses go through a stage that would be lethal to humans before the good bacteria make it too acidic for the dangerous bacteria. If it's a bit old, cook with it or boil it.
Many cheeses go through a stage that would be lethal to humans before the good bacteria make it too acidic for the dangerous bacteria.
Can you dumb that down for me ?
What about white dots on cheese ?
The white specks or crystallised patches that appear on hard cheeses are amino acid clusters, not mold. They are fine to eat. Some even go so far as to say that they add a pleasant crunch and savory bite to the cheeses' texture.
Ahh, stupid me trying to scratch them off.
Thanks for the facts !
I'm all over the place when it comes to this. There are many many factors at play which make it hard to know the right way to go.
I used to say, smell it, taste a little, and if its suspect then throw it out and if not then eat it, because I didn't like the idea of wasting food.
Now, I'm more of the mind that feeling sick (even if it doesn't develop into full blown food poisoning) is not worth the $1.20 gamble for yoghurt, and its simpler just to mindlessly follow the guidelines.
I had a bout of nauseousness after eating some reduced for quick sale chicken couscous once and ever since, I've become more likely to throw out food that are past their best before than risk it.
Do it. You might get lucky and get a free colon cleanse, it's nature's secret. Drink loads of water.
On a side note: I've only just bought new chicken salt. The one of been using is Best Before 29 Aug 12! It's salt, with some dried spices!
The only time dried spices get thrown out are if insects start living in the bottle. I hate it when I'm spicing food and realising not everything is spice!
I'm not sure whether the flavour was already long gone, but I use stuff until it is clearly no longer usable
I'm a bit wasteful when it comes to Best Befores, but if it's something that isn't that fresh to begin with then I'm fine with a few days past it.
A lot of food just changes taste and texture rather than makes you sick.
2 years past Best Before is a bit extreme, same with yoghurt.
Probably not going to get good reception from the poll, but this has all been discussed before and I think most Ozbargainers are fine with foods past the Best Before, and maybe even Use By dates.
Depends what it is: yoghurt and juice I'd definitely chuck.
Things like topping, cordial, wedge seasoning etc I still use past best before date.
So stuff will go off before a best before date, some will last days/weeks/months after. Really depends.
I can only offer this as a retired Chef. In every restaurant that I have worked in, the rule was always. "If in doubt, throw it out." and I shall use that rule for the rest of my life.
Consider a restaurant is making the decision for the customer, and can’t reasonably go and ask “the yoghurt is a day over best before. Would you rather have some, or go without.”
A home consumer can weigh up their personal decision and not be as wasteful.
This is a stupid reply. When I was working, we did the look, sniff, smell test. Exactly what I do at home now. We don't waste food at home, neither did I when I was working.
Did you always sell out of date food if you felt it looked/smelled OK? Or just sometimes? Or are you saying you never, ever use food out of date, and double check with a look and a sniff to throw out additional, in date food?
When you have responsibility for judging other peoples safety I agree it is normal to be conservative, even when it means wasting what is very likely food suitable to consume.
I don't understand why you would use the same rule at home, invariably. Surely better to think about it on a case by case basis?
Most dairy products are only dangerous when they actually start smelling off. Milk and yogurts I will use as long as they don't smell bad. Hard cheeses are also ok a long time after their best before date, however i wouldn't go pushing dates on soft cheeses. Salads are probably the most dangerous food group when it comes to food poisoning cases, so I steer clear of any salad pushing its limits.
that is sound advice - avoid salad.
Depends if it's post the zombie apocalypse or not.
The V8 juice is probably not harmful but will taste funny due to reactions with the metal tin. I had a diet coke which was a couple of months out of date and it tasted awful.
salt has a used by date. seriously, due to safety requiring it to have one.
Any dairy product 2 weeks past its due date will make you very ill.
I’ve done this a lot of times and never been sick. If dairy smells and tastes fine, it’s fine. The only reason for the date is law. I’ve had dairies tell me to keep drinking their milk until it tastes off.
The same smell and taste rule applies before the use by too, don’t just drink it because it’s in date.
Also note, yoghurt is “off” milk anyway.
Yogurt gets thicker and creamier past it used by date. Yum!
Thank you all. I've chucked the yoghurt, I think the fruit part of it had started to turn. Will likely throw the V8 too.
Gonna get more methodical about turning over out pantry contents too!
Taste and sniff test for all dairy. I’ve had milk expire before the printed use by and I’ve also drank milk 2 weeks after because it was still fine.
I’d probably attempt the same method for the v8 given it is a long life product.
Yoghurt starts going downhill from the miniute it is produced.
The fresher it is, the better it is for you and visa versa.
By the time it gets to the best by date its still edible but has no usefulness whatsoever.
2 weeks after Id say its like drinking 3 week old milk !
Just dont do it!
Yoghurt is milk which is already ‘off’.
Past the use by date doesn’t make it any worse for you. As long as the container is unopened, and has been kept under refrigeration, it won’t go bad for a long time. It will become more tart, but it won’t go bad.
Fruit yoghurt is more susceptible to going bad because of the fruit content, but I have eaten plenty of natural yoghurt which is well past 6 months past the use by date. In fact, I don’t even look at purchasing yoghurt until it gets to the markdown section of the supermarket, and preferably until the day before the use by date.
Says the self proclaimed expert to the Greeks who invented yoghurt.
"Best by" and "Use by" dates are there for a reason !
Do what you like
Go ahead and eat your old, off milk and yoghurt.
Suffer the consequences.
Just dont recommend such irresponsible eating habits to your fellow OBs.
how do they make expired milk taste good then??? And I thought expired milk, was good for you…….
I've been through periods without much money, foodbanks have food that is short dated or just past its best before date. I'm only wary with fresh milk or meat products but the look and smell test should suffice. Yogurt can keep a while but once its mouldy toss it.
We've gone far past "use by" on all sorts of things and never got even the least bit sick.
The ONLY times there has been anyone here really sick from food has been eating out, never at home, funny enough.
I give it a quick "smell-test" and then a tiny bit of whatever it is on the tip of the tongue. I do "float" eggs, to check for bad ones, however.
YMMV
consume number 2 on your list and then come back and enlighten us with your findings
Use by or best before?