Just yesterday I found three unopened packages of active dry yeast with an expiration date of 3/2006 in the back of the pantry. I proofed one package, it worked just fine, so I made two delicious loaves of bread with the other two packages. The site says 3-4 months or expiration date on package. I didn't look at any of the other items yet.

Sherry

Okay, so perhaps it doesn't provide helpful information. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Years ago when we first move to the mountains permanently I started keeping an emergency panty I figured the red cross may come but we wouldnÂt be at the top of the list. I had never bought any canned meats before or many canned goods at all. This was way before they started putting expiration or use by dates on anything. I called Hormel because they were about the only canned meats of any kind I could find and they told me that there canned meats would last indefinitely as long as the cans were still in good shape and they were stored in a cool dry place. When we moved several years ago I opened a can of roast beef that was at least 15 years old just to see if it as still any good and it smelled and tasted fine. I even have some canned butter that has a shelf life of 10 years and the Crisco customer service people told me it will probably last longer that I will live.

The same goes for first aid supplies I ask the pharmacist about the expiration date on aspirin and he said they had to put a date on them and the worst that could happen is they may lose strength but aspirin and most prescription drugs would last for years.

I think the manufactures got together with the government and came up with this expiration date thing to get us all too continually toss out perfectly good stuff so we would keep buying more. I do rotate everything in my pantry but I also have used some things that were according to the date should have been rotten and it was perfectly OK. I ask DH if he noticed that his beer now has an expiration date on it he just laughed and said not to worry he would try to drink it before it went bad so at least thatÂs one thing I donÂt have to worry about. LOL

Claudia

Cathy, the information is helpful but it is a guide, as shown by Sherry's expereince.

And what's with an expiration date on bottled water? Or my deodorant?

I opened up a bottle of water that had expired and it tasted like plastic. Nasty! Now, deoderant? No clue why that would expire.

Cathy thanks for posting that site.

That is a handy site to have bookmarked. Thanks.

I did use some expired canned pumpkin the other day for muffins. That was fine, but if I wasn't in a pinch I might have reconsidered.

AM

shaun, I think ALL bottled water in plastic bottles tastes like plastic, no matter the date.

As noted, those dates should be used as a guide. Many of the "expiration dates" have nothing to do with safety, they are quality issues. Quality starts to deteriorate after a period of time. Even Diet Coke has an expiration date now.

Milk has an expiration date, but I drink it for days afterward, I can certainly tell whether milk has begun to sour or not. Eggs have a "sell by" date, the ones you get at the store may have been there for a month and they're still good for another month past the sell by date, at least.

Fresh fruit? I think most of us can tell if a strawberry is moldy or lettuce is soft and slimy or oranges have gone soft.

I have had cans of commerical products go bad, the tops will bulge and I toss them, but it doesn't happen often. That's why I try to cycle things to the front of the pantry. Things like dried noodles could be safe to eat forever, but they're going to be stale, it's that quality issue.

And frozen meat is perfectly safe to eat 5 or 10 years later, as long as it has remained frozen, but I think it would be pretty freezer burned.

Home canned food can also be safe indefinitely, although the guidelines say to discard after 2 years. That's also a quality issue, largely. I had some jam from 1980 that mother had stashed in her cupboard. It was perfectly safe to eat but it was brown and had no discernible flavor other than sugar. The Orioles loved it, and I ran the jars through the dishwasher and reused them.

Annie

Well, I looked through it....and lots of what it says is just plain dumb....like champagne, opened, will "keep" for 3 or 4 days! It's not good for drinking after a few hours....but if refrigrated it's great for cooking for more than a week.
And fresh asparagus only good for 3 or 4 days?? Depends on how long it has been picked before it gets to you!
And the recommendations on cheese? How silly....brie wrapped or un wrapped only keeps in your refrigerator a week? Nonsense...I have bought brie that wasn't even ripe enough to eat for a month later!
The idea of a site like this is good....but this isn't the site.
Linda C

Cathy, I have found that my yeast did not keep after the expiration date. As a matter of fact, if it was within several months of the expiration date it did not rise. I think it is a good site to have as a baseline.

Cathy, thank you for posting that site.

There are things listed that might seem 'dumb', or incorrect, or at least be old knowledge to some, but no way will I believe that everyone here already knows everything there is to know about everything, or even everything that is listed there. :>)

There is such a wide variety of things, and a lot of good info.

A good place to go when you come across an unfamiliar item.

I'm bookmarking it.

Rusty

I will pass on some of these comments to the FoodSaver Group that shared the site with members.

Thank you for your opinions.

Thanks for the site Cathy...some interesting information.

Sue

I've bookmarked this website and have used it as a great guideline. I hate to admit it, but I used it to see how long Cheese Whiz would last:)

As an aside, I only have to think about my one bout of food poisoning, and I can throw out stuff without one vestige of remorse.

Cathy in SWPA

Thanks. Many useful info there. However:

I bought peeled garlic in a bottle, it lasted forever in the frig.

I bought another bottle of peeled garlic, labeled organic, lasted only a couple of weeks in the frig and started to go bad.

dcarch

Diet Coke has an expiration date for good reason. I don't recommend buying it if it's too close to it's date, it tastes terrible. I learned this lesson sometime in the 90's, my Coke tasted awful and I finally noticed the date on the can - it was expired. I've noticed that at the (military) Commissary, when the price of Coke is a great deal to always check the date. I think it's worse in the cans vs bottles- I bought some bottled DC twin-packs that were close to/past their dates a couple weeks ago and didn't notice the off-flavor I've tasted with the cans.

The sweetener in diet sodas does indeed degrade, bottles will only be good for a few months.

Some meds like antibiotics should not be used past expiration. I remember finding 'fuzzy' blister packed erythromycin.

Raw beef roast, according to the table is good for 3 to 5 days. Cooked, it is good for 3 to 4 days. I think we can accept these as reasonable figures.

Does the clock get reset when the beef is cooked? In other words, if a roast is kept for 5 days prior to cooking, will it be good for another 3 to 4 days after cooking? Would the outside limit then be 9 days total?

Jim

Yep, that's correct, assuming it was cooked to the proper temp and the bacteria was killed. I haven't checked my Servsafe book, but I think it's 145F.

AM

Today, I opened a can of Borden Sweetened Cond. milk and it had caramelized...IMO. "Best to use by" was June-07.

Phoned company (product now owned by Smuckers), and learned that this was produced in 2005. Rep said some folks may respond poorly to changes in product-but no chemical facts provided...ie: amino acid changes.

Years ago, I heard a cook book author say that she preferred 'caramelized' sw. cond milk. I did not use the product, though the can was not swollen, and tasted fine. It is now enriching kitchen compost. Have to restock that item as I was craving Key Lime pie with some FL gifts!

Have heard that unsold eggs in stores are sent back and reboxed with new dates. Not sure if this is still happening. Lucky to have bountiful layers.

"Have heard that unsold eggs in stores are sent back and reboxed with new dates. Not sure if this is still happening."

Hmmm, this reminds me of a story a friend tells, of when he was putting himself through law school working in the butcher dept of a supermarket (back in the stone age when all supermarkets had real butcher depts). At the beginning of each day, the packaged ground meat that didn't sell the day before was re-opened and re-ground with the new day's meat. How's that for a recipe for cross-contamination???

I notice my supermarket has fairly recently begun to discount a lot of fresh meat/fish/poultry items that are really close to their "best by" dates. I wonder what they used to do with them? (That's a rhetorical question - I'm not sure I want to know.)

There's a big difference between "tastes and looks great" and "it will make you sick as a dog." The guide errs on the said of caution and maintaining high quality, and is reasonable to that end. Thanks Cathy, it will come in handy for those condiments that I'm never quite sure about.

Did you know that honey can last for thousands of years? They found some in a Egyptian tomb and it was all right. I wonder who volunteered to try that? It was on an episode of "Life After People: Last Supper" where they showed what would happen to food in a grocery store with no one to take care of it. Showed how long things would last and how it would deteriorate. It was fascinating, but not for those who are squeamish. You can see the full episode here.
Clare

Here is a link that might be useful: Life After People