Is it still OK to use?

11 years ago

I found a boxed sweet potato casserole in the cabinet that has a best use by date of 9/2012. Do you think it would still be safe to use?

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Comments (7)

iris_gal
11 years ago
What are the ingredients? Flour may go rancid.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
how much do you love your family??? .... lol ...

in the alternative ... is it worth wasting 2 or 3 bucks... rather than using the family as lab rats to find out... lol..

i hate wasting a penny ... but i will skip 3 days of belly aches and headaches.. for a lost few bucks ...

i vote for NOT finding out...

ken
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foodonastump
11 years ago
I'm curious as to what it is.

A canned product? If so, my guess is it's safe but possibly not very good, if it ever was in the first place.
grainlady_ks
11 years ago
The product may be perfectly "safe" to consume (as in no bacteria growth that could make you ill), but individual ingredients degrade or go rancid, and flavors could be "off", as well as texture being different. Hard to say without knowing the ingredients list and how they are packaged. Personally, I'd toss it.

Keeping track of use-by dates is the biggest challenge when you do home food storage like I do. I write the use-by month/year (example: 9/2012 or 9/12) on each item before it goes into the food storage room or the pantry using a Sharpie, and mark it in a visible place on the front. I check my inventory at the first of each month and keep a running inventory in my Price Book of things I commonly purchase. I take my Price Book with me when shopping. This helps me plan menus and avoid waste.

If we have peanut butter cookies or peanut butter muffins, hubby knows it's a telltale sign I needed to use a jar of peanut butter before the use-by date. ;-)

-Grainlady
plllog
11 years ago
I wish I had Grainlady to organize my pantry. Sigh.

I agree. If it was made to sit on the shelf and has been stored all this time in a kitchen cupboard (rather than in the sun, for instance), it's not likely to make you sick. Make sure the wrapper has no holes. But that doesn't mean it'll be nice to eat.
foodonastump
11 years ago
I re-read the orig post. Boxed. I presume a dried product. "Best by" means it might not be at its best anymore. I'm sure it's safe, but if it were me I'd use it if it's in a sealed plastic bag (within the box) toss it if it's flying around loose in the box.
triciae
11 years ago
Another reason why I like peanut butter powder! :)

/Tricia

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Is it still OK to use?

Comments (7)

iris_gal

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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