[metmom]

I also use those general rules to decide whether canned goods are safe. If I’m not certain it’s good, I won’t eat it. You’d be surprised, though, at how many people (especially younger ones) think that any canned food past the date on the can is inedible and must be tossed out.

My d-i-l is one.

Course, that really started after she ate an old container of yogurt that didn't look great. Her own fault. We warned her.

Now she's become the expiration date police.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

The willingness to throw something out if you suspect it’s spoiled is key. Otherwise, chow down. Yesterday I ate some tuna with a date of December 2015, so far so good.

I have also heard that cats won’t eat spoiled food, so offering a bit to the cat might work for things like tuna (I didn’t bother). The trouble with that method is that cats don’t like a lot of foods even if they’re perfectly fresh.

A few years ago I started using a Sharpie to mark the month and year of pull dates directly on cans or packages before putting them on the shelf. Makes it lots easier to monitor and rotate pantry items.