Use By/Sell By/Best Before Dates

[mamacatnv]

I am a firm believer in best if used by does not mean dead if used after.

Like many, smell and appearance are huge.

 

[Hikergirl]

Meat and dairy are never used after the date. Any opened container (salad dressing, condiments, jarred things like jalapenos, pickles, roasted red tomatoes) in the fridge gets dumped if it is past the date.
If it is an unopened container then I use the smell and then taste test.

 

[gillep]

I am aware of the dates, but, I do not accept them as being the law. I've had milk 30 days past and it was fine. Anything that contains any degree of vinegar will keep forever. Mayonnaise that is refrigerated will also last a very long time with no difference in taste or quality. So many refrigerate mustard and ketchup when it can stay out in a closed container at room temperature almost forever.

Meats I try to use no more then a few days past the best by date, but, you can tell a lot by just smelling it. If it is bad you will know immediately. The ones that actually make me angry are the ones that jumped on the "best by" date thing just to increase sales. Item like soda, beer and any canned product that is sealed and unopened has been known to last years and years and years.

My daughter came over to my place one time and I offered her a diet Coke. The first thing she asked me is what is the date on it, because she knows that I don't drink diet Coke. It was at least a year past the date. I convinced her to try it and I poured it into a glass. She took one sip and decided it was stale. (whatever that means) So then I told her that I had just bought some recently so I would throw away the "old" one and replace it with a new one. Yes, I was being sneaky. I only had that one 12 pack from a year before, but, I opened one up, put it in a glass and told her that this one should be a lot better. She tried it and agreed. That whole dated soda and beer thing is a total scam. Things in a completely sealed can, with no oxygen present and especially with today's preservatives are perfectly fine to consume and if the manufacturer tells you different, they just want you to throw away perfectly good stuff and run out and buy more from them.

I have actually had diet coke go almost flat on me after sitting in cans in my cabinet for about a year. I always buy diet for pool parties, but never drink it myself, so old cans are a constant around here. I didn't think anything would be wrong with them but I tested a few (pouring into a glass not actually drinking them) and every one was significantly less carbonated. If they had been fine they would have continued to sit there another year!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Hey, it's up to you what you do. For every article you find that tells you something is bad,

Sorry, I didn't mean it went bad. Chemical breakdown changes the taste.

 

[Sparkly]

I can only buy lactose-free milk in litre cartons, so never get to finish them before the expiry date because I don't really tend to drink it much. I don't get how you guys can finish huge great bottles in the space of a week?!

 

[mickman1962]

The only food with an expiration date (according to the government) is baby formula. All other dates are made by the manufacturer. I would think most much shorter then actually needed to get you to by more. Former cook, taste/smell test works for me, when in doubt, throw it out

 

[klacey1]

Meat I absolutely will not use past the date. Seafood that I buy at the counter must be used that day or the day after. We don't buy milk often, usually only for specific recipes that require it. And in that situation I'll buy one of those single-serve Dairy Pure bottles.

Eggs are the one thing I don't really pay attention to the date on, though we rarely go more than a week beyond the sell by date because we eat a lot of eggs. When we have any left past the date, I'll do the "egg test" to see if they're good:
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-test-eggs-for-freshness-how-to-find-out-tips-from-the-kitchn-46368

It's never steered us wrong, and no one in this house has ever had a food-related illness.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Depends on the artificial sweeteners used. Some break down in 90 days or so.

Yes. Diet pop using aspartame, used beyond its expiration date by maybe 3 or 4 months will have lost its sweetness. Not bad for you, just tastes lousy.

 

[goofyernmost]

Sorry, I didn't mean it went bad. Chemical breakdown changes the taste.

Yes, but, if the taste is bad to you then it might as well be spoiled. But, you wouldn't know that unless you tasted it. It isn't dangerous just no longer fits what you would consider enjoyable. Actually, just today I finished off a 2 liter bottle of Creme Soda. I just opened it two days ago, but, what remained no longer had any fizz, but, it tasted like Creme Soda and I like Creme Soda so it was fine. We were talking about throwing perfectly good food away because of an arbitrarily stamped date on the package. There is much more to it then just reading a date.

 

[Diznygrl]

Dates are just a general guideline. If it still looks/smells/tastes ok, I eat it.


Honestly it's no wonder we waste more food than we eat in this country.

 

[kimblebee]

The only date I am strict on is milk. I’ve had sour milk too many times to want to ever again. I won’t drink milk that is even one day past it’s date. Even day of is iffy for me. Everything else is dictated by common sense.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I use the smell or taste test.

Milk says sell by last week? *sniiiiiiif*, nope, still good.
Mill says sell by 8 days ago? *sniiiiifffff* ACK ACK ACK!

 

[dgthree]

That whole dated soda and beer thing is a total scam. Things in a completely sealed can, with no oxygen present and especially with today's preservatives are perfectly fine to consume and if the manufacturer tells you different, they just want you to throw away perfectly good stuff and run out and buy more from them.

I disagree with that - diet sodas sweetened with aspartame can develop an off taste, as the sweetener loses sweetness (and almost becomes bitter) after a certain amount of time.

 

[KPeterso]

Another who uses the sniff appearance test. If it looks or smells bad, it goes into the garbage.

Milk never makes it close to that date as go through 1.5-2 gallons a week, and always look for the furthest out sell by date in the store.

Interestingly, I have volunteered at my local food bank several times with work, and the canned and pre packaged type of foods (ie pasta, sauce, canned goods, mac&cheese, cereals, etc...) all have different use by dates at the food bank. For example, if the expiration date said 7/31/18, there would be a sign based on what type of product it was saying if it was still ok to keep. Often those dates were 1-2 years further out, so something date 1/1/18 would be a keep item.

 

[bcla]

Interestingly, I have volunteered at my local food bank several times with work, and the canned and pre packaged type of foods (ie pasta, sauce, canned goods, mac&cheese, cereals, etc...) all have different use by dates at the food bank. For example, if the expiration date said 7/31/18, there would be a sign based on what type of product it was saying if it was still ok to keep. Often those dates were 1-2 years further out, so something date 1/1/18 would be a keep item.

Dried pasta can literally go years after any sell by date and still be safe to consume, as long as it's been properly stored. I don't even think most people could tell the difference.

 

[Feralpeg]

I won't use meat after the use by date. I am also paranoid of anything with a tomato base. I got deathly ill from eating salsa that had been refrigerated a week after the date.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

DD was four weeks old and I asked dh to pick up ready- to -serve baby formula on the way home from work. He was in a rush and did not check the expiry date (I do on almost all packaged edibles). Thank goodness I checked because the formula had expired 6 months before and they were still selling it! I phoned them right away and the manager refused to believe me but the next day when dh went to return it with the receipt he saw that they had removed all the boxes and were re-stocking the shelves.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I disagree with that - diet sodas sweetened with aspartame can develop an off taste, as the sweetener loses sweetness (and almost becomes bitter) after a certain amount of time.

We had some small bottles of Dr. Pepper past their prime. The fizz was totally gone. So yeah, it has a short shelf life.

 

[bcla]

We had some small bottles of Dr. Pepper past their prime. The fizz was totally gone. So yeah, it has a short shelf life.

Depends on the integrity of the container and the seal. I've had cans of carbonated soda where I saw the sell by date on the bottom was a couple of years before I opened it. Perhaps some of the flavor was reduced, but they were perfectly fizzy and tasted pretty close to what I would have expected. And these were acidic drinks.

However, I've also purchased cans (standard aluminum) of Coke when overseas. I had one can that seemed reasonably intact although I didn't open it. Another was really odd. I didn't open it, but I noticed by handling it that it had become light and it seemed like there was maybe a tenth the original amount of liquid in it. I think the water had somehow evaporated, although there was no noticeable leakage or anything hole in the can. I turned it around and the liquid inside stayed in the can.

Reminds me of the movie Blast from the Past, where the father in the movie has at least 35 years worth of supplies stocked in his fallout shelter, including Dr Pepper in bottles. Apparently he liked it served hot. When his son comes back to the surface to try and replenish their stocks (thinking that there was some sort of armageddon where he wants to stay in the shelter) one of the things he's obtained are years worth of Dr Pepper in cans.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

I'm very strict about food safety. Milk must be consumed within 7 days of opening it because on day 8 I'm dumping it down the drain, regardless of what the sell by date is, and I'm obsessive about sell by/best by/expiration dates on products. Fresh foods with no preservatives like fruit juices, bread, or leftovers are pitched after 5 days.

Do you write on the carton or otherwise keep track of what day you opened the milk?

Dried pasta can literally go years after any sell by date and still be safe to consume, as long as it's been properly stored. I don't even think most people could tell the difference.

After my father-in-law died last summer, DW and I found close to 100 boxes of dried pasta in his house, scattered all over: cabinets, garage, bedroom closet, etc. Some had best by dates of 2011 or so. A few didn't have dates, but some printed manufacture's code that couldn't be deciphered. I told DW that it's still good, but she insisted on throwing out everything past the best by date. Probably around 25 boxes.

He also had about 40 cans of a certain variety of Progresso soup. Something like Creamy Mushroom with Wild Rice. Some of them were a few years out of code too. I agreed with DW that we shouldn't take a chance on those. The ones in code we donated to a food bank, along with plenty of the pasta.


The most outdated thing in my house now is probably a plastic squeeze container of Swedish mustard from Ikea. I got it as a gag gift Christmas 2016, with a best by date of May 2017. It's still good. There are likely some spices that are a decade old.


Like others have stated here, smell and appearance is a more valid indicator than any printed dates on the packages.