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Thread: Food past its sell by date

  1. #1
    feral
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    Default Past it's sell by date..

    .. would roasted pumpkin seeds be safe to eat 2mths past their sell by date?

  2. #2
    tabitha
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    Default Re: Past it's sell by date..

    chuck em in the bin I would.

  3. #3
    feral
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    Default Re: Past it's sell by date..

    Darnit! I've two packets at £2.50 each... hubby was gonna risk it but I don't fancy spending the night listening to him blowin holes in the porcelain.

  4. #4
    tabitha
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    Default Re: Past it's sell by date..

    Im no expert. Im just a bit paranoid about out of date things (ironic really since Im a bit past me sell by date...)

  5. #5
    feral
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    Default Re: Past it's sell by date..

    Aaaww no you're not girl, you're a fit, healthy vixen in your prime!

  6. #6
    Abe Froman Risker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Past it's sell by date..

    I'd eat them, how long was the sell by date originally? if it was a year or more then I can't see how another 2 months can make much difference, especially if it is a sell by date rather than a use by date.
    "I don't want to live on this planet any more" - Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth

  7. #7
    feral
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    Default Re: Past it's sell by date..

    Well it's best before 01.03.06 and they've been lurkin in the kitchen for about 5mths so I don't know how long of a best before date they usually have..... they're the clearspring organic roasted pumkin seeds... I was just wondering if seeds are prone to toxic fungus like nuts are?

    Thanks for your opinions guys.

  8. #8
    sugarmouse
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    Default Re: Past it's sell by date..

    if it was me i would probably eat them if they tasted ok-i hate wasting food..but then i do not want to be responsable for your trots! so its up to you.is it 'sell by' and not 'best before' or 'use by?'
    'use by' is the one that realy matters.

  9. #9
    feral
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    Default Re: Past it's sell by date..

    It's best before sugarmouse... it'll be hubbies trotts lol I'll maybe just stay at my friends if it goes down that way hehe

  10. #10
    sugarmouse
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    Default Re: Past it's sell by date..

    lol yeh stayout the way!y
    ou are usually ok with best before...all it means is the product literally reached its 'best' before said date.i tink it would be ok as long as they dont smell,look, or taste off.lol

  11. #11
    Eating Wildflower's Avatar
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    Default Re: Past it's sell by date..

    If they look OK, and it wasn't stored in warm conditions, I would think they would be OK.

    But don't listen to me...last Sunday I broke down and ate some soy cheese that was 5 months past the expiration...it was all sealed and everything still and when I noticed the date, I lost all control and ate some of it anyway . Then I realized I was incredibly stupid and left the other half of my meal for later to see if I got sick or died or something. LOL - I was fine, and now I am thinking of making pizza with it, since it was opened, I feel like I have to use it fast!

    LOL - God what was I thinking! Soy cheese cravings just took over!

    How embarrassing...i shouldn't have shared that!

  12. #12

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    Default Food past its sell by date

    I've got some tempeh that's a few days past its sell by date - do you think it's OK to use or is it best to be safe and chuck it?
    Last edited by flutterby; Sep 25th, 2006 at 05:17 PM. Reason: This was the 1st post in a similar thread

  13. #13
    luaps
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    ive used it a week or so out of date.

  14. #14

    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    I let my nose decide most things in these matters. If it smells like it's going off I don't eat it; if it smells OK it's OK.

    The only exception that I can think of is cooked rice -- I don't like eating that if it has been cooked more than a day ago despite being stored in the fridge.

  15. #15

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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    What's the general rule regarding sell by/use-by dates?

    Actually it's the use-by date I'm interested in, and for dry food like beans, rice and grains. I was clearing out my kitchen cupboards today and have found various packets of the above that are past their use-by date, periods ranging from 2 or 3 months to a year and a half

    Anyone?

  16. #16
    Abe Froman Risker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    If they've been kept dry then they should be fine, I'd eat them 10 years past their use by.

    If you die from my opinion I take no responsibility.
    "I don't want to live on this planet any more" - Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth

  17. #17

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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    Quote Risker View Post
    If you die from my opinion I take no responsibility.
    Having watched Ghost Whisperer last night, I'm quite sure I can let you know either way

  18. #18
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    I would have a good look at them to check they're not mouldy. If not I would imagine that they would be OK although I would like to invoke the same disclaimer as Risker

    I do remember reading that the longer dried beans have been kept the more cooking they require as they get tougher with age, but I don't know if it's true.

  19. #19

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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    They found dried beans in the pyramids, didn't they, that sprouted up a treat. So I err on the side of indolence when it comes to chucking away dried pulses and the like. So long as they're dry, they smell okay, and they don't taste weird when I cook 'em.

    As for the pumpkin seeds, I'd eat them. And then spit them out if they taste GAH!. Most likely they'll just have dried out a bit, and feel a bit gritty in the mouth.

    (Oh, I'm supposed to say that if you die, it wasn't me, it was the others... right?)

  20. #20

    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    A few months past the sell by date should be ok for dried foods but I wouldn't chance a year and a half.

    I've found that soya yoghurt can keep for months beyond the sell by date and still be perfectly edible.

  21. #21

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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    Dried stuff tends to be ok as drying is a preserving method. Same for foods sealed in jars or tins.
    See my local diary ... http://herbwormwood.blogspot.com/

  22. #22
    Zero
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    If things look and smell ok, then I eat them. Canned, packaged and frozen stuff is fine way past the date in my opinion.

    I've got an M&S stir fry in my fridge thats almost 2 weeks past its date and its fine, better have it very soon though.

    I doubt you will die from old food, so I am going to apply the "If you get sick don't blame me" disclaimer lol.

    I think just being sensible is the key really and checking things over.

  23. #23

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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    ^ I'd just like to point out that Zero's new avatar might well be a pic of him dead on the floor after eating a two-week-old stir fry!

  24. #24
    Zero
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    Quote Ruby Rose View Post
    ^ I'd just like to point out that Zero's new avatar might well be a pic of him dead on the floor after eating a two-week-old stir fry!
    Haha

    Not quite dead, only slightly comatose.

    (is he dead on the floor or crawling on the ceiling? )

    The stir fry did come out of a bin at M&S too!

  25. #25
    AR Activist Roxy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    We have some Belsoy vanilla puddings that "expired" in June. My partner and I both ate one yesterday. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them and we're not sick or dead.

  26. #26
    patientia
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    I'd eat them unless they're rancid. I eat food past best before date ever since I became vegan.

  27. #27

    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    I ate all sorts of stuff that would make most people ill. I would smell, and then try a bite. If I do not feel ill, or off, I would eat them heartily. But... my stomach and intestines are made of steel. (I do not even fart much, or get upset stomach, and I have not thrown up since I was 6yrs old: about 26 years ago.)
    context is everything

  28. #28
    kokopelli's Avatar
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    Yes, I usually look for signs of mould or gone-offness, sniff, taste a little bit and if it's OK then that's fine by me. It all depends on storage conditions anyway. If food is kept airtight and cool it will usually last for a lot longer than the use-by date.

    The main problem comes with stuff like brazil nuts, where often most of them can be OK but you get the occasional really horrible one, and if you grind them up to use in a nut roast or whatever, the whole thing can be ruined. Whereas, if you eat them one at a time, you notice a bad nut instantly and can spit it out.

    Also, I've learnt from experience that old dried beans and peas can take ages to cook properly and sometimes they just won't soften however long you cook them, so you can end up wasting fuel.
    once in a while you can get shown the light
    in the strangest of places if you look at it right

  29. #29
    Buddha Belly
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    I give it a nibble then wait an hour. If no effect it's fine. We had rice milk about 6 weeks out of date yesterday and i'm fine. I've had wholegrain mustard from 1986 in 2001 and it was fine. Though Tempeh tastes like PVA glue after it has gone off.

  30. #30
    kokopelli's Avatar
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    I just remembered something I read about 'use-by' and 'best-before' dates.

    'Use-by' is used on highly perishable food to show when it should be used by to avoid any chance of food poisoning, but 'best-before' is used on stuff like jam, biscuits, dried goods, etc., which are basically still OK to eat past that date, but may not be in prime condition or might be going stale.
    once in a while you can get shown the light
    in the strangest of places if you look at it right

  31. #31

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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    Yeah, we buy quite a lot of food that's passed the "Best Before" date. There are even shops and websites that specialise in short- and out-dated food.

    Dry and tinned foods particularly seem to last for years

  32. #32

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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    Quote kokopelli View Post
    I just remembered something I read about 'use-by' and 'best-before' dates.

    'Use-by' is used on highly perishable food to show when it should be used by to avoid any chance of food poisoning, but 'best-before' is used on stuff like jam, biscuits, dried goods, etc., which are basically still OK to eat past that date, but may not be in prime condition or might be going stale.
    I just found this forum while looking for some info about expired tempeh. Glad to find a vegan forum! Anyway... I tend to take chances I shouldn't with expired food as I hate to waste it (knock wood always worked out Okay so far).... tonight I cooked and ate a package of Turtle Island sesame garlic tempeh that was exactly two month past date, and yes it was a USE by date not a BEST by date. I dont think tempeh is HIGHLY perishable... Anyway, I think tempeh is pretty obvious when it's gone bad, I've actually had it within date when for some reason it was bad and YUCK! This tempeh looked good and smelled good. I cooked it up separate from the veggies and it still smelled good. SO I ate it. Crazy or practical? I guess we'll find out in a few hours--wish me luck!
    Samantha

  33. #33
    leedsveg
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    Hiya Sam. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

    I sometimes eat food a bit out of date but MrsLeedsveg wouldn't dream of it.

    Leedsveg

  34. #34
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    Sell by and use by dates are obviously sensibly there to prevent food poisoning, and also to protect us from unscrupulous retailers who might otherwise be prepared to sell us rotting food. I think that the answer, as with most things, is that if it looks off and smells off, then it probably is off. From my experience there is a good safety margin built in to the date anyway. It is unfortunate that some retailers use the date to persuade us to buy more of a product when the original item is probably quite safe to eat. At the end of the day it must be a personal decision.
    "Nostalgia is not what it used to be"

  35. #35

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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    Just an FYI--I was fine after the January-dated sesame garlic tempeh. Whew! S.

  36. #36
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Food past its sell by date

    Glad to hear it, sammysam!

    I think regarding chilled foods it also depends a bit on how you store them. I found a lot of things were going mouldy quickly at one point and unfortunately it took me a while to work out that our fridge thermostat setting had been altered so it was too warm Adjusting it has made a lot of difference. Of course, having it colder uses energy but so does wasting food.

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