Expiration Dates. Do You Monitor Them Closely?

Chet said:
When buying cakes, pies or pastries, I check the "sell by" dates. I take the latest dates to get the freshest which they usually try to hide on the bottom of the display.
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Not here. They hide them on the very top shelf so I can’t even reach them. Sometimes I have to climb.
 

Chet said:
When buying cakes, pies or pastries, I check the "sell by" dates. I take the latest dates to get the freshest which they usually try to hide on the bottom of the display.
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That they do, and I'm not a bit afraid to tear the place apart looking for exactly what I want.

So sick and tired of stores selling day-old pastries and baked goods for the same price as they were listed for on the day they were made fresh!
 
Remy said:
Expiration Dates. Do You Monitor Them Closely?
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Yes, I monitor dates closely, depends on the product as to whether or not I'd discard them. Prescription meds might get several months "grace period", OTC meds maybe a year. Packaged food items can go awhile, if the [opened]mustard is over a year out of date- I'd toss it.
Most items are OK past their expiry date, but the quality[of taste] may become degraded.
 

Ceege said:
After a severe case of food poisoning over 50 years ago, I'm still wary about what I eat. I check the dates.
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I had food poisoning as a child, but I don’t think preservatives were perfected back then. I am careful about the date on salads and such. Salads do go bad and can make you very ill.
 
hollydolly said:
Yes I'm very careful...and I know the difference between 'use by''..and 'best before''...

I got shellfish food poisoning years ago after eating at a pub restaurant , I was so ill the doctor had to come to my home and give me intravenous antibiotics..

I have never taken a chance with food since then..

When my DD was small I worked in 2 major supermarkets in the uk part-time, and I know how date labels are changed , so I will never use poultry, fish, shellfish, or chicken within 2 days of their 'use by'' date .. nor deli meats...

I'm very careful to chill left over rice immediately before keeping it in the fridge and use within 24 hours or throw it out...
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Why rice? 😂 I’ve eaten very old cooked rice with no ill effects. I can not eat rice anymore, but I am curious
 
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Ruth n Jersey said:
I check the expiration dates in the store. I am extra careful about meats, fish and poultry.
At home I check the dates of food I have in the refrigerator and also go by smell. Cheese that is past its prime I grate and use in a recipes, Luncheon meats and especially raw chicken I toss as well as dairy products.
Although I remember my mom getting a few more days out of milk by just bringing it to a boil and then cooling it. I'm not sure if that would hold true with todays milk.
Most of the time I'm very good at using items before they go bad. I'm to thrifty to let anything go to waste.
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I remember when, as a child, mold would grow on cheese and we would simply peal it off and eat the cheese. Now we know better and realize mold extends deep into cheese where it can’t be seen and needs to be thrown out. But I never got sick from doing that.
 
Aneeda72 said:
I remember when, as a child, mold would grow on cheese and we would simply peal it off and eat the cheese. Now we know better and realize mold extends deep into cheese where it can’t be seen and needs to be thrown out. But I never got sick from doing that.
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Yes, I remember the same at my grandparents house.

Mold was cut away with a knife and life carried on.
 
Aneeda72 said:
Why rice? 😂 I’ve eaten very old cooked rice with no ill effects. I can eat rice anymore, but I am curious
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You're very lucky not to have got sick from old rice..

Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. The spores can survive when rice is cooked. If rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores can grow into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea.
 
When younger I was totally careless and oblivious to them. o_O
But now I am older and wiser ! Yes I do watch all of them very closely. Especially with anything that has chemicals in them.
Old chemicals in eye drops, mouthwash, toothpaste, OTC meds etc. can be very harmful.
I also used to be careless with what temperatures items were kept. Especially my eye drops. I would keep them in my pocket or leave them in my handbag in a the heated up car or motorhome. Not good! They have a storage temp of 59 to 77. Some say 69 as the top temp.
My car, motorhome and pants pockets were much warmer then that.

I check food items in the cabinets, fridge and freezer often. I am careful to never let anything get near the date.
 
Tish said:
Yes, I certainly do, I even do the egg float thingy with eggs that are in date.
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Quicker way to test for freshness, is to press the one end of the egg lightly against your closed lips, then turn it over and hold the other end against your lips..If the egg is fresh, one end will be noticeably warmer than the other...

I do this automatically with every egg I use, it literally takes a few seconds...
 
The stores here will put the oldest in the front hoping that we will just grab it and go. But, I reach back and get the last one. It will have the freshest date every time.
 
AprilSun said:
The stores here will put the oldest in the front hoping that we will just grab it and go. But, I reach back and get the last one. It will have the freshest date every time.
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It’s logical that they do that, it’s how I store my food at home. Doesn’t mean I don’t want the freshest, so I’m willing to dig.

I’m also willing to go to another store for fresher items. The milk in one store often only has a few days left on BB date. No thanks.
 
hollydolly said:
Quicker way to test for freshness, is to press the one end of the egg lightly against your closed lips, then turn it over and hold the other end against your lips..If the egg is fresh, one end will be noticeably warmer than the other...

I do this automatically with every egg I use, it literally takes a few seconds...
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Thank you for that Holly. ❤️
 
I usually make it a point to check expiration dates before putting items in my cart.....but a few have slipped by me, and notice it when I'm about to use them.
So... I just return them to the store and give them a heads up. No problem.
 
I usually freeze items just before the Use by date as it's usually meat or dairy products but I'm not so concerned about Best Before ... as others have said, it's a precaution for manufacturers ...

There're a few speciality stores here which sell products after the BB date and they're very cheap, I've bought boxes of noodles, tinned veggies, dry cat food and ice blocks ... they're very popular, always people buying
 
Recently hot dogs say to use within one week of opening. It probably isn’t necessary but instantly I’d have a tummy ache if I ate them on day 8.
 
hollydolly said:
You're very lucky not to have got sick from old rice..

Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. The spores can survive when rice is cooked. If rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores can grow into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea.
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Thanks for the explanation. I’d read not to use rice after 2 or 3 days and never knew why. Often it’s much longer than that.

I wash/rinse my rice three times before cooking. Maybe that’s my secret. Or it’s just been luck.
 
hollydolly said:
Quicker way to test for freshness, is to press the one end of the egg lightly against your closed lips, then turn it over and hold the other end against your lips..If the egg is fresh, one end will be noticeably warmer than the other...

I do this automatically with every egg I use, it literally takes a few seconds...
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We can only buy chilled eggs in a supermarket here and once they've been cooled, it's not recommended to store them at room temp. Farms can sell room temp eggs directly to a customer stores can't.
 
Lewkat said:
I do for meat, dairy and deli salads that are pre-mixed. ...
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Same here, but I'll go past the date for organic dairy products. I've had organic dairy--esp cream--keep well several weeks past their dates.
 

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