Would you eat it the day before the absolute date?

I don't find that link useful because the two people appearing in that video are 1) a videographer/journalist who produced the piece and 2) a staff member of an environmental organization. No subject matter experts.

I'd suggest considering another way to look at it. Food is tastiest and most nutritious when fresh. The date is a guide to that. I check by taste if it's close, otherwise, I'll toss the item.

Someone who frequently encounters expiration dates, no matter which of the inconsistent (I agree) methods is used, may need to think about doing things differently. Maybe buying a smaller package/quantity so that can be used quicker. Maybe accepting that buying an infrequently used item will require tossing it before using it up (I do this, as an example, by writing purchase dates on bottles of spices and herbs, replacing the rarely used ones after 9 months or so makes a huge difference. I don't want to work hard making a dish and then have it fail because a key ingredient has a weak or off taste).

I used to work with a woman who would throw it away if the date was yesterday. Even if she ate it yesterday and it was fine.

I don't pay too much attention to dates, except dairy. Even then, it gets the sniff test. My DH pulled out the corn meal from the freezer last night, and said "Oh no, it's expired!" (he was being silly). The label said "best by", it was in April sometime. It lives in the freezer, so I ignored him.

Just today, I pulled out a tub of miso paste from the refrigerator. I had written the date I opened it, 2012. I looked it up, turns out it keeps pretty much indefinitely.

Last weekend DH made Kraft macaroni and cheese for our DGD. It had a date of 2017on it. It tasted fine. We really do have to check dates on what we buy at our grocery stores in our small town. I bought more and was sure to look at dates, 2020!

Elmer-Thanks for pointing out that the link is to a video, not an article; you saved me a “click!”

And sjerin-Would you mind editing your post to reflect that? Thanks!

It's an article, 95% of the content of which is in the video contained therein. It won't start until you click the video itself.

Most of my spices are well past the “use by” date. I usually just add a little extra.

I always buy the smallest amount possible with prepared foods....like mayonnaise, ketchup, salad dressings. I always keep a close eye on dates on milk, eggs, etc. I don't buy enough canned food to keep track of it....because I buy what I need. Okay. I admit I have "food weirdnesses". I toss everything before the bottle is empty. It gets down to about 1/4....out it goes. After the hurricane, we stayed for several weeks with a friend in town. She is anorexic, but also a food hoarder. She had two refrigerators and besides the freezers on them, a chest deep freeze. You couldn't slide a playing card between that stuff. She kept a little dab of this, a little dab of that, leftovers that didn't amount to a spoonful. I didn't say anything....it was her house but stuff like that makes me crazy. (Crazier). I don't save left overs unless I am sure I will eat it the next day. Possibly one more day if it is something like potato salad.

Many years ago, at the beach, we ate in a little Gulf side cafe. Picnic tables on a deck outside. Ketchup was in a squeeze bottle...put some on my fries and fish, and it was soured. Had been sitting out for not telling how long. I guess that is what made me like I am. It still creeps me out, and by no means am I a neat freak or germaphobe....I just want everything to be absolutely fresh when I eat it. I may not have the best of everything, but I eat good food, and I don't have to worry about how long it has been sitting around.

I do the food storage thing and keep a moderate amount of food on hand including the food that I can.

I am pretty scrupulous about not having cooked food in the refrigerator for more than a short time. I've seen people save food after it has sat out during a family gathering, that is not a good idea. No matter how much time/money it cost, saving it is a false economy, because one trip to the hospital for food poisoning will cost a thousand times what you paid for that chicken salad with mayo even at the fanciest deli.

I agree completely, marilyn and I don't think you're odd at all and we have similar practices. Or, we're both odd in the same way, that's okay!

It's like the old saying "Life is too short to drink bad wine". I GLADLY pay more and go through the inconvenience of more trips to the store to have fresher food. We don't buy in advance (fish is for same day cooking, no meat more than 2 days in advance and not even that when we can avoid it) and freeze nothing.

Ketchup doesn't last forever (we refrigerate ours). Some (crappy) places have the habit of combining bottles or refilling Heinz bottles with cheaper stuff. When left out, it can ferment because of the sugar content. The sure sign is when you open the cap and you hear air escaping.

I am similar to Marilyn when it comes to condiments. Once they start getting runny or seem to separate with more frequency out they go. I refuse to use the Ketchup that has been sitting outdoors or on a hot windowsill. I choose places that keep the ketchup and condiments off the tables completely when given a choice. I do wish the dates would suggest how well the product will be "best by" once opened.

The one thing I will eat post expiration date is a cut of beef. Not ground beef or processed meat but a day old steak is fine. Aged beef is good beef.

Frozen foods may be safe to eat indefinitely but they won't have the same flavor and texture. If I am eating something, I want it to taste as god as that particular item can. Life is too short to subsist on bad food unless it is necessary for your survival.

I work retail and we have to damage out so much food because of the best before dates. We usually put coupons on items about a month before the expiry date to try to sell them down first, but people see that date and won't buy. So we toss thousands of dollars in the trash every year. We can't sell it because customers don't get that they won't die from expired or close to expired food.

Mayo is one food I won't eat expired. Or eggs. Last week I made a stuffed spinach that called for sour cream and cream cheese. Both had expired. Both looked and smelled good. I used them anyway and we didn't die.

Jarred commercial mayo is so well preserved, it's safe. Homemade mayo is the stuff that caused our mothers concern many years ago, you know the homemade potato salad that poisoned a dozen people at the church picnic in 1940. Commercial mayo is not a problem.

We don't use a lot of mayo or miricle whip so I only buy it if I need it for potato salad ect. My cousin gives me some of those little fast food packets of mayo so I have them for an occasional sandwich if someone wants it. I have a real problem if someone dips a knife in the mayo than spreads it over whatever is on their sandwiche than dips the knife back in for more...it introduces bacteria into the mayo.

I’m with Marilyn totally. I buy the smallest jars of mayo, etc because we rarely use it except for making deviled eggs or some other dish. DH uses mustard a lot and we seldom use canned goods unless it’s something for a recipe. I watch the best by dates and clear out anything expired. I want fresh food too and can’t stand for food to sit out for a long period of time.

According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, the 'best by' or 'use by' date has nothing to do with food safety with any shelf-stable products like condiments (mayo, mustard, ketchup) or dry or canned goods. The date, which is provided voluntarily by the manufacturer, tells you how long the product is likely to remain at its absolute best quality when unopened. It has nothing to do with any "expiration" or the fact that once beyond that date the food is inedible or unsafe to eat. And generally that 'best by' date is far enough into the future (at least 12 months for condiments and canned or jarred products) that unless you use the item so rarely or stock it in quantity, it will be fully consumed before you get to that point.

'Sell by' dates are different and typically apply only to perishables like meats and dairy products. And that again is how the store tracks their inventory, not that the product is somehow magically inedible after that date. Depending on the product, it is completely safe to eat for days to a week or more after the sell by date.

The only products that have an actual 'expiration' date are baby formula and some baby foods.

Folks get far too wrapped up in these labels without understanding and throw away perfectly good food unnecessarily. These never appeared on prepared foods when I was growing up and I doubt instances of food poisoning were significantly higher than they are now. And we wasted a whole lot less :-)

That's interesting info, gardengal. But not necessarily useful.

For me and I suspect for many others, it has nothing to do with FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) about food safety or what dates mean. Most should be able to recognize with the dates as a guide, common sense, their noses or a small taste whether something is spoiled but that's beside the point. Fresh is fresh, not fresh is not fresh.

I am not sure why this would not be "useful" - it is obvious from previous comments that the reasoning behind these printed dates is not well understood nor was it clearly explained previously. And based on the nature of many of the previous comments to this thread, I think that FUD re: food safety is indeed the primary motivation behind it, otherwise people would not be tossing out perfectly edible foodstuffs just because they have some misunderstood date printed on them!!

Sorry, it wasn't a personal comment about your effort to find information. By saying "not useful", I meant that I doubt anyone is going to change their views or their practices by having more understanding of the dates.

Some prefer to stockpile food, whether in storage areas or elsewhere and perishables in freezers, and there are many who don't. Those who do must learn in practice how long is too long for particular items, what's acceptable after storage and what's not. Those who don't stockpile food want the freshest items possible and date details don't come into play.

As the OP said, her guest preferred to not eat mayo that was "expired" (however the date was determined) while OP thought it was still fine. No matter how the date was determined or what it meant, I might have given it a taste if the passed date was recent but my view (and that of others, judging from comments) about preferring fresh over old would have been the same as the guest's and OP's would be unchanged too.

For some, it doesn't matter. Some with limited means need to buy what they can afford. There's no right answer.

Side note: on baking mixes, the baking powder can deteriorate and not rise after a certain time. So if you were looking at the date on a box of cake mix, for example, that's another explanation of "best by...".

I often buy bread, cookies, etc. near the date printed on the closer tab as more or less "Best before" ... at 50% of regular price.

I mostly use the "Best before" dates as rather general information, that it's best before that date, but not necessarily heavily deteriorated after it.

I've often eaten items whose "Best before" date was past, even on occasion some time past, but checking seemed that they were still in f ... ood (I meant "good": dang keyboards!) condition.

I ain't dead yet, haven't had gutache, throw-up or discomfort (and have certainly not needed to visit an emergency room - so-called "free" in Canada, though some pay little heed to the major costs involved ... and in Ontario we who are more than fairly low-level income earners have an annual health fee).

"Bon appettit!" everyone ... and good wishes for a long, healthy and happy life.

ole joyfuelled ... who sometimes is fuelled also by so-called "Best before" food

I bought a new box of baking sofa. I usually decant it into a jar so it’s easy to use. Before I threw out the empty box, I noticed for the first time it said to replace the sofa after 30 days! I have never done that and seriously do not bake enough to use up even the smallest box within 30 days. It is so easy to test whether baking sofa or baking powder are still good to use so it seems a very wasteful direction by the company.

The 30 day rule is for baking soda used to absorb odors in a refrigerator. If stored dry in a cabinet, baking soda lasts indefinitely. Not so with baking powder...but you can make your own fresh baking powder anytime with baking soda and cream of tartar (both of which last indefinitely. )

I try not to "stockpile" food so expiration dates aren't a concern usually. But I pay attention to expiration dates and depending on what it is,may or may not get rid of it. Just yesterday when I made tacos the date on the sour cream was march 2018. Yeah,not eating that.

As for leftovers,I try to make enough for just one meal,but it usually doesn't happen that way. Neither one of us are huge fans,so leftovers are almost always dog food around my house. Come to think of it,outdated bread and chips and stuff like that go to them too.

Gosh I eat all sorts of stuff after it's best before date or expired date. Maybe I have a cast iron stomach but I'm still here. I won't eat sour cream or bread if I see mold.

" leftovers are almost always dog food around my house. "

The best thing to feed your pet is pet food. Many things in human food or other non-commercial concoctions can be dangerous or just unbalanced in nutrition for dogs (or cats).

I volunteered at a center which had a food pantry. I remember they had a list, like from FDA or some other govt entity, that listed how much longer past “best date” it was safe to eat. The volunteers used it as a guideline for donations that were beyond the exp. Date

Oh Elmer. You again. Sigh. I feed them dog food. They also get our table scraps and leftovers. I do not exclusively or even mostly or even daily, feed them "people food." They are all quite healthy,thank you. I am quite sure the leftover 4 oz or so of steak they shared between the four of them today is less dangerous than a lot of the dog treats on the market these days. My home cooking has yet to sicken or kill man or beast(knock wood). Not something you can say about some pet products out there. Geez.

I will sometimes use things a few days past if they seem okay, but generally I stick to expiration dates. I don't care if people want to eat expired food themselves (and I'm sure that most is just fine) but I don't like when it's served to others without their knowledge.

There are so many variables that it is impossible for a food manufacturer to determine a precise 'it goes bad' date. Much depends on how the food was packaged (or canned), how it was stored and used after opening, and the product itself. A somewhat conservative 'use by' date is applied to many foods. However, I have found that dates on milk products are not conservative, but near to the mark.

For example, if we leave a loaf of bread out at room temperature even with the wrapper closed, it will begin to mold in a few days. Put the same bread (after opening) in the refrigerator and it will stay mold free for 2 to 3 weeks or more.

If you don't know and don't want to know, that's your choice. I wish your animals the best. Ask your vet next time you have a chance.

Has Nimrod ever contributed anything except recitation?

My animals have the best. My vet has advised me not to overdo any sort of treat,be it people food or commercial dog treats. Everyone already knows that. Everyone also knows that its best to feed pets pet food. No one needs all-knowing-super-expert-on-everything Elmer to educate them on that. Least of all me.What I do know is that no one wants what's best for them more than I do.

My son has a thing regarding expiration dates on food. I have found him many times going through cupboard looking at expiration dates and throwing out stuff. I tried to explain just because if says it's a few months past it is ok. He has never gotten sick from anything. I blame it on a class in highschool that showed the " horrors" of expired food, even frozen stuff.

One episode really made me mad. He found some frozen in the package kelbasa past expiration date. But I explained that was for the refrigerated date, not frozen. But it was long gone in trash.... Told my sisters they can borrow him if they need their cupboards cleaned out. Maybe he missed his calling as a food inspector!

Late 1960s or so one of the chain stores in Phoenix had an area where one could buy older foodstuff at half price.

There was a news story recently of some place in Tucson where the janitorial service contracted to remove all the ''expired'' foods was giving it to the needy.

I get rid of stuff that I know is perfectly okay to eat. It isn't because I am afraid I will get sick. I just replace it every month or so. I am up to my elbows in literal filth every day, plus I handle a lot of animals and cleaning up from them. I didn't get the "starving children" somewhere would like to have that.....talk from my mother when I wouldn't eat my food when I was a kid, but she said " some little bird would like to have that". I was never forced to eat anything. However, if you put food in the trash, you were in trouble. So I have no qualms throwing out food. It all goes to some animal or to my worms I raise. I call it my food "weirdness" because I am weird (I suppose) about what I eat. Of course I keep all that in the refrigerstor, but I hate a messy refrigerator and I learned a long time ago, if I just kept a lot of food in there, it wouldn't be eaten and shoved back into a corner and get gross.

It's fascinating how people refuse to hear/understand the purpose of the original post. The dates MEAN NOTHING to a consumer. They are all pointed at the sellers. If you care you can only decide if something is healthy to eat by using your own senses. The entire "I eat only FRESH" is bunk!! You have NO IDEA how long that product has been in that store or since it was alive, unless you grew it yourself. The point was for the USA to STOP being so ignorant and wasteful. To give yourself a 'pass' because you are too special is just not cool. MOST of our food is sooo over processed, chemically altered, it could sit in your fridge for YEARS and be SAFE to eat. If you truly want to eat what's BEST/MOST HEALTHY and REAL go organic.

I have a carton of eggs with a best by date of May 7th. They are perfectly fine. They may not make a pretty poached egg, but I don't care for poached eggs. I checked the egg and no float. Sank all the way.

https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/how-to-tell-if-an-egg-is-fresh

ETA: I usually use a very tall large glass.

"It's fascinating how people refuse to hear/understand....."

i agree, and think you're guilty of that yourself. I and others said we prefer to eat food soon after buying and limit storage and storage time. That's eating fresher and better tasting food (in my view) than alternatives. Let's go shopping at the same time and buy the same things. I'll eat my stuff soon and you can store yours and eat it much later. I'm eating fresher food than you and that's all there is to the point of view. If mine hangs around a bit longer than I wish, I'll toss it guiltlessly. You can eat yours. No problem either way, right?

marilyn gets it completely. I don't get those who think there's some spiritual sanctity to food. It's something you buy just like anything else, and something you can discard when you want, just like anything else. It's about personal preferences and that's why I suggested that to me, how or what the date refers to doesn't matter. And for things without dates, I write one on the label.

Huh? Elmer, you make no sense what so ever. You just like to argue and will argue with anyone for any reason at any time. My egg tasted just the same today as it did when I bought it. YOU did not listen to arcy. THE DATES MEAN NOTHING!

I look at the product...I trust my own judgment. I have seen moldy bread with a "good date" and eggs eaten after their sell by date that are fine. Smelly chicken goes in the trash with no need to look at the date...etc. People survived and even thrived before these dates were ever put on things. I consider them simply a guideline, not a hard and fast rule by any means.

You're right in a sense sherry, talking to people who don't listen to what others say may sound like arguing. It is frustrating when trying to explain a point of view (any one of which is as valid to the person holding it as any other, your's or mine) it seems to hit a wall and bounce off. If someone says something and a second person offers a different opinion and the first person pushes back, it's the original opinion holder who's arguing in defending their view. But, maybe this thought will bounce off you and others too.

The trouble is that your point of view is ALWAYS the opposite of everyone else.

A conversation when everyone has the same view isn't very interesting. Anyone who seeks that out exclusively will miss the chance to learn from others, Or may have the reaction you're showing for my comments.

I often agree with others but tend to not make a comment when I do. Why bother?

I'm SO sorry I haven't gotten back to this--didn't realize at the time things would get busy. And now I'm expecting a friend to visit so I'll have to put off reading this until after she leaves. My original intent was to discuss the food wastage in our country but we'll see where this went.

Ok, I read. It's been a learning curve to cut down on grocery shopping over the years as my kids left the nest; why, I'm not sure. My mother, a depression-era teen, always stockpiled food that was on sale and we ate almost all of it. This was before dates were put on packages of food and unless a can was bulging or there was mold on the bread, we ate it. We didn't have much money so this was perfectly doable. However, I have to admit that as a person whose stomach isn't iron (as my mom's was,) I have a very hard time eating food that isn't good-tasting, though I have no problem with eating food past code dates that taste fine--milk and eggs come to mind. It is a "first-world" problem for sure, and when I realize something in the pantry has not been eaten by the date, I so hope a charity will take it and be able to use it.

Debby, is your store not willing to donate expired food, or do they worry about a lawsuit?

Bossy, I'm glad to read what you have written. Try as I might to buy what I think we'll use up in a reasonable amount of time, old habits die hard and I find myself with the guilt of "expired" (is it? Mostly, no) food.

I fail to understand why some think a charity should accept food that they themselves don't want to eat or use because it has expired. according to the date on the label. Food banks are not there for the convenience of people cleaning out their pantries. Seems to me one should want those in need to have the freshest most wholesome food, not the bottom of the barrel.

Some frozen food will go bad if it remains frozen too long. Fatty cured meats such as bacon and sausage will go rancid. That is why it is recommended by the they only be frozen for 1 month. Actually it is recommended that bacon and the like not be frozen at all. The salt used in the curing process combined with fat hastens rancidity.

Watchme, I know what you are saying, but I truly believe there's nothing wrong with food that is a little out of date. Giving it to someone who needs it is a far better option than tossing it, imo. There is never enough food in charity pantries and they lament all the wasted food.

Golly, I've eaten frozen and thawed bacon that was certainly older than one month, and it was not even a tiny bit rancid.

At NPR:

Eating And Health Don't Fear That Expired Food

Thanks for the article, Why... It's always nice to have someone "official" agree with my personal opinion. :-)