*hangs head in shame*
Last week I cleaned out my kitchen cupboards and I found lots of out of date food.
And by out of date, I mean REALLY out of date – Just look at this….
This went out of date in June 2009 – over four years ago.
This was the most out of date thing that I found but there were lots of other things that were at least a couple of years out of date – all of which were binned by Mr Frugal who came in to the kitchen half way through the task to find me sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded in everything from tinned peaches to cider vinegar. He won’t eat anything even one day past it’s used by date so he binned everything, even the things that just had a best before date which I would have been happy to eat if they weren’t too far past!
It’s an argument discussion we have regularly as there’s been many times when he’s thrown out half a loaf of bread that’s past his best before date even though it would have been perfectly fine to eat.
It annoys me because I know there’s a difference between ‘Use By’ dates, I wouldn’t ever eat anything that’s past the used by date for health and safety reasons but best before dates are OK as long as you use your common sense!
So even though I’m sure the sachet of Ainsley Harriet cous cous would have been fine to eat and the bottle of cider vinegar would have been fine to cook with (if I had a clue what to use it for), they went in the bin.
How frustrating is that when I’m usually so careful with using up leftovers and not wasting food!
What about you though – would you eat food that was out of date or is it straight in the bin if anything does ever go past the sell by date?
And to show you just how long ago 2009 was, look at the difference a few years brings….
best before dates was put on by goverment just so they earn money before that everyone used common sense and wasted less food, i mean even toilet roll can have best before dare on yet its perfectly fine and a waste of time , there was talk goverment taking best before dates and use by dates of products to stop food waste i think it be a great idea as there would be a lot of less food especially as a nation our portion sizes have got bigger hense more food waste when full, i throw next to nothing away it can all be used again and we have smaller portions then we have something if we are hungry a bit later on x
I am a manager at a grocery, and believe me…those dates are most often "maximum freshness" dates…which means, they are when the optimum visuals and taste are to be had. Eggs can go WAY past the expiration. Smell them when you crack them…simple enough. Canned goods…as long as their is no damage to the can, no bubbling or smell…infinite time. Milk is said to be o.k. for 10 days past the expiration, though I will not touch it past a day or two. LOL My husband eats yogurts easily 10 days past. The only actual thing I am cautious about, is medications.
I discovered Approved Food recently and love it. They sell food that is past it's best before date but still perfectly edible, and at half price or better. They also sell lots of cleaning products as well. Sorry, this is coming across as an ad but I was really impressed with the prices and how fast they delivered http://thingsthathavecaughtmyeye.blogspot.co.uk/2…
I love approved foods too – thanks for reminding me x x
I usually work on the premise, if it looks ok, smells ok and tastes ok, it’s probably ok!
That's my rule of thumb too x
Omg, it happens to me so many times that I instinctively dont read up on the expiry date and something like this happens to me then :O
This post has really helped me make a mental note of always checking out the dates :p
Love
Jessica x
I'm glad I've reminded you x x x
I am a bit funny about dates, especially since I had the kids (have spent the last 4 years pregnant or breastfeeding). My husband isn’t too bothered so I tend to make something for him to use up stuff that’s ok but past the ‘best before’. We did the big cupboard clear out just before we moved and they were similar to yours 😀
You're the exact opposite to us in our house lol
I'm glad I'm not the only one with the dodgy kitchen cupboard secrets 😉
If something had a Use By date on it but it looked and smelled okay and it wasn't something like yogurt, milk or something like that, I'd probably still eat it! :O
Best Before, that's fine too, I always use things that are past their BB date.
My dad gave us a pizza that was Use By: Yesterday, and I was going to make it for dinner, but he threw it away!
As long as it looks and smells OK, then it's more than likely going to be OK. That's my rule too!
I recently made a lasagna using dried lasagna sheets that were over a year past their best before date. The lasagna tasted great! If something is past it's use by date, I wouldn't eat it though.
That's the point isn't it – best before is completely different to use by. I just have to convince my husband of that now!
That is so funny, I had a load of that Ainsley Harriot cous cous in the cupboards too, and ours got lobbed as well! I’m the same in general though, there are plenty of things that just require a bit of common sense, like veg – if it’s brown and watery, don’t eat it!
We're probably not missing much with the cous cous lol. Common sense is definitely the way to go!
Ooooh this really irks me. Hubs will throw out anything that's a day past it's sell by/use by whereas I keep things for much longer. Eggs especially, because I keep them in the fridge they last longer. If they're more than a week I'll check them in water before I cook them, but unless it's a custard or a hollandaise I'll use them. And dried and tinned goods definitely a good year before I'd chuck them. Even meat if it's not chicken. Fish and chicken I chuck if they're more than a day. Can't stand waste!
I'm exactly the same as you but I'm going to have to Google how to check an egg in water 😉
OH is so annoying, he eats more out of date food than he thinks though but that's our secret!