How much attention do you pay to the expiration dates on the food you prepare and consume? I’m real picky about some things. I will barely use milk on the date stamped on the container but Vince will use for several days after the date.
For home canned veggies, I’ve never had a jar that was so old I wouldn’t use it but most things are used within two years. I did once have a jar of green beans that had something growing inside. I threw the jar and the contents out . . didn’t even want to open it.
What about canned veggies? Honestly, I just don’t pay much attention to those dates. If I opened a can that had foam or was a weird color or smelled bad, I wouldn’t use it. Just last week, I pulled out a can of storebought soup that had a 2011 expiration date. I opened it, smelled it, had Vince taste it . . no, not really . . he never even ate any of it but I did and it was fine. For the most part, my canned goods go onto a shelf on one side and are removed from the back side so in theory, the oldest items are used first and I shouldn’t find expired cans but sometimes I do.
Last week I came across an article on this very topic at Consumerist. Read the article, make your own decisions . . but it made me feel better about using things I do find that are a bit past the “use by” date.
How do you feel about expiration dates?
Teri Jordan says
I don’t really look at the dates…..I know how long I have had the food….I’ve read the article that you recommended before….and I agree with it….
I also was told by some one that was experienced about the subject of organic food……that because of the unpasturized manure that is used by organic farmers….that ecoli is more easily passed to the consumer……than not organic food….
Nancy says
I seldom look at the dates on the food in my pantry. If a can looks suspicious (i.e. bulging) I discard it. I’ve used old cake mixes and puddings without any problem. As for old spices, I just use more. Too much food is wasted because people think the date on a can means the food is spoiled.
Mary in VA says
I am picky on dairy products such as milk and the few fresh vegetables I buy in a grocery store. Other than that I pay more attention to how the item looks. Is the packaging puffier than it should be, is the item discolored, is there a smell? I’ve had items within the dates that have not been right and go into the trash, I’ve also had items that are past the dates and been fine. I treat the dates more as guidelines. You don’t know where the food has been stored before it gets to the shelves, and that has more impact than the date on the outside of the package.
Susan says
I don’t pay much attention to them for most things. Milk and meat, but if I buy meat that’s close to the exp. and then freeze it, or milk, for that matter, then I don’t worry about it. I know there’s a huge built-in safety factor and that what usually happens past that date is perhaps some nutritional loss.
Tracy says
I pay attention to the dates on dairy, eggs and other perishables – the local dairy says that the milk is good for 7 days past the date, but I don’t go a day or two past the date. I don’t worry about canned foods if it looks and smells ok I will use it.
Edie says
Hi Judy. Just like you, I don’t pay too much attention to expiry dates, except to organize the cans, oldest in front, newer in the back. What I find annoying is when you forget to check ‘sale’ items to find out they are almost expired when you get them home, so they need to be used up quickly. A certain noodle dinner we get is frequently ready to expire when on sale, and now I know to check that one before purchasing, especially when sold in a case of 12.
Toni in TN says
I really watch milk as it normally will smell sour one day after the expiration date. I now regularly buy other diary products at huge discounts that are past their date like yogurt, cheese, sour cream and such. Now that I know they can be frozen I simply measure them out into user friendly sizes and freeze. Appearance, smell and lastly taste. Just use common sense.
Carole says
I use common sense with the dates. As long as things look and smell OK, I’ll use it. I do know that date goes out the window once something has been opened. With sour cream I store it near the ice maker to keep it colder (especially after opening) and once it’s open I put plastic wrap directly next to the contents rather than stretching it across the top to keep the air away. This is a good thing to do with any food that goes into the fridge. Milk goes into increasingly smaller containers as it gets used for the same reason. Air is the bad guy in the storage discussion.
Helen Koenig1 says
I use the expiration dates kind of as a guide line but do NOT toss when that “magic” date appears. Why? Found out from a good friend who should know that most expiration dates posted actually occur even a year – year and a half – or more – before any real problem could be expected – that this is the date after which I can expect increasing problems – maybe.
I prefer home canned – or better than that – I prefer home dehydrated of low acid veggies, water bath canning of fruits, pickles, tomatoes, relishes – none of which I’ve done this year – everything has been dehydrated!.
Sherrill says
I don’t even look at the date before looking..if it’s on my shelf, it’s fair game to be used. But in the course of the move, just a couple of days ago my niece was taking canned goods out of the pantry and checking EVERY date. She found one that I THINK was 2002 and was so aghast that she took a pix with her phone and posted on her facebook page!!!! She LOVES making her aunt look like a doofus! (not really but she could not believe I still had something in the pantry that old–I felt like it was probably still good given the preservatives they use!!). Will have to check out the article.
Diana in RR, TX says
I rarely look at dates. You can tell easily enough if something has gone bad or close to going bad. I try and find the farthest date when buying milk, but have rarely had a problem with milk going bad. When we lived in Asia I bought a can of coffee-the coupon had expired 2 years earlier. Coffee tasted fine but we did get a good laugh out of that one. When my BIL died, his daughter went through and threw out everything that was past the date! They would buy canned goods at a store that sold things cheaply. You know what the major grocery stores could not sell anymore. She just went in and tossed it!
AngieG9 says
I don’t pay attention to due dates. If I buy milk I freeze most of it immediately because I’m lactose intolerant, so only use it as an ingredient in some recipes, but I usually get the canned or boxed milk, and as for canned goods, I water bath and dehydrate my own, make fruit syrups, relishes, pickles. I use small amounts of cream at times, and make butter with what is left over, saving the buttermilk for biscuits the next day. No need to waste things. I even started making watermelon pickles this year because I hated to throw the rinds away.
Beth in AZ says
I use them as a guideline, but my teen son thinks its against the law to use something with a past date on it! I have been giving him ‘lessons’ on ‘best by’ , ‘use by’ and ‘sell by’ dates. He does not trust me to serve him food that is not spoiled! (but he will let me stuff my nose in it to see if it smells …seems my nose works best in the house!) Luckily my husband considers me a healthy cook and will eat what I serve.
Lee says
Seems there’s pretty much a consensus on here, and I’m in agreement. I largely ignore the dates, believing most to be nothing more than a marketing strategy. When I do pay attention, is largely on fresh goods or dairy items. Fresh obviously does spoil, but canned and dry, that’s a different issue. I’ve also learned that honey NEVER spoils. And I wonder why soap would have an expiration/best by date attached, hmmm.
Cindy F says
I agree with the consensus here too about using expired cans. I have used milk past the date too as long as it tastes fine. However, since I’m new to canning I have a hard time deciding on those items. I found a jar of apple butter I put up 2 years ago and was wondering if it was still okay. I’m thinking it is but I hesitate to use it and at the same time I hate to throw it away. I’d be curious to see what you all think about that.
JudyL says
I’m not giving advice but from what I’ve read and what I’ve experienced, 2 years should be fine so long as it isn’t discolored, doesn’t smell funny or isn’t bubbling or oozing. But always use your own good judgment!
Kristen says
Okay, so I’m the odd man out, BUT after suffering a horrible case of food poisoning and almost dying from it, if it is past the due date it goes out. I got the food poisoning from a salad at a restaurant, but spend a week in the critical care ICU with 16 IV’s and you know where I’m coming from. I won’t even take a chance anymore. I buy mostly organic and we eat only fresh or frozen food so nothing really ever gets old.
Sherry says
This is a “do as I say, not do as I do” story,but in summer of 2012, I was cooking a meal that required a lot of eggs and I didn’t have quite enough so while I was bellyaching about having to run to the store, my daughter went to the refrigerator in the basement and produced a new dozen eggs. I made the meal, we ate it and all was good. A couple of days later, I noticed the date on the carton was dated February of 2012. The eggs looked fine, smelled fine and everything tasted good and nobody got sick. However, I am careful about checking dates after that.
JudyL says
I go by the “if it floats, throw it out” rule with eggs because the eggs my chickens lay don’t come with expiration dates. 🙂
Mary says
Keith uses milk past it’s expiration date too. Not me! He sent me an article the other day about expiration dates and good safety too but I’m not convinced!
Linda H says
DH retired from the specialty coating industry (after 40+ years) and was involved in coatings for food cans/packaging. I don’t use anything that is REALLY old (more than a year past its expiration date) but the REALLY important thing is to never, ever, ever, EVER buy or use a can of anything that is dented. The integrity of the seal is compromised and the contents can be bad. Too often I see all these dented cans in the markdown basket and people are buying them. NOT a good idea …..
Dorothy Schreyer says
I hardly ever look at the dates; except if I am giving the item to my daughter or a food drive. My daughter is very phobic about the dates. I was raised without them and know to look for bulging cans or weird smells, then they go straight to the trash.
Helen says
When I was a kid we lived in Bahrain. When my mother bought eggs we never knew how old they were. We would crack them and then smell them – after smelling a bad egg it taught you to sniff carefully!
Today I spotted an article on the BBC on this very subject:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-24305902
We try to be very hard not to waste food at our house, but so much is wasted before we even buy our food.
There was a competition on Food Network in the last couple of years where the celebrity chefs had to source the food they cooked with from food that was being thrown out (even at farms where not perfect has to be thrown out). It was eye-opening to say the least, but I don’t think there was any follow up to it.
Linda Steller says
I think oftentimes they are there to make us buy new stuff when what we have is perfectly fine. There was a broadcast about this just recently on the radio, and they said that most expiration dates are set way too soon. We should pay attention to the dates on dairy products, meat (unless we freeze it) etc., but things like condiments and dried spices should largely be ignored. Canned goods are usually fine unless the can is dented or bulging. Home canned goods you can usually tell just by looking at the glass jar – is the lid sealed well? Do the contents look discolored? If it looks questionable, I get rid of it.
Mel Meister says
Heavy cream lasts for months past the expiration date. Months and months. I don’t think I’ve ever had heavy whipping cream go sour.
JudyL says
Trust me . . it does and it’s not a pleasant smell. I rarely keep it much past the expiration date mainly because I’m usually using it in a recipe that I’m really looking forward to and don’t want to allow out of date cream to ruin it.
Susan ~ Patchkat says
Don’t pay much attention to the dates. As long as my eyes and nose work….think I’m pretty safe. Meats are the one item I really check out prior to using.