Posted on 10/03/2024 1:16:46 PM PDT by metmom
Before you put a food item into your cart or basket at the grocery store, you likely look for a “best by” date (or something of the like) to make sure you’ll be able to use it before it goes bad. But did you know that an expiration date and other food date labels are not the same?
Here’s what you need to know — from what each label means to which foods to avoid after their expiration date.
Expiration date vs. date labels: What’s the difference?
According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), an expiration date is typically only found on infant formula, which is regulated by the FDA. The “use by” date on infant formula refers to the date the manufacturer can ensure both the quality and nutrient content of the formula is safe for your baby. FDA regulations require this date to be clearly labeled on infant formula packaging because once that date passes, the product should no longer be given to babies.
(Excerpt) Read more at goodrx.com ...
This site has the best explanation of what the various dates mean. It's a short article.
Ping.
Eggs are easy to tell if they are bad. The older they get the runnier they are. If the yolk breaks too easily and is flat, then I toss it. Otherwise, eggs, especially farm fresh ones, keep a LONG time.
I just ate a Slim Jim with an expiration date of February, 1973.
No problemo! :-)
It generally takes us that long to can a beef.
Beef that has been frozen should be used much more quickly.
I wrap meat (twice around) in Saran Wrap, and it stays fresh for years. I know this because I found a steak in the freezer I forgot to rotate, and it was fine.
A reminder that canned foods should be stored inside, if you keep them in a shed the temperature swings will shorten their shelf life and after a few years of really harsh temps they don’t taste very good.
Sheds, and garages, even the unairconditioned spare bedroom or back porch can shorten their shelf life to where you should use them within that suggested 2 year (avg) use by date they have stamped on them, stored in normal temps they last way beyond those dates.
FResh eggs don’t float in water.
Too bad we can’t tell that before time and money is wasted,
and you’re really hungry for your breakfast or anytime.
Wonder if one can take the carton and soggy egg(s) back to the store. :-grrrr
I don’t have access to farm fresh eggs, but the there is a noticeable improvement in taste in Aldi Free Range eggs over their Cage Free eggs, but both are superior to their regular eggs. And I don’t care what the “experts” say, brown eggs taste better than white eggs. It may be because the yolks have a richer color, and the appearance of food does affect the taste, from a psychological aspect, for most people, but my husband knows the difference, and I don’t tell him what color the eggs are. Hopefully, next year either we or our son will have chickens.
I grew up in a household with parents who were born during the Great Depression. They taught me that canned items were safe to eat unless they were dented, rusty, or swollen. And slight dents were sometimes ok too, but needed to pass other tests as this article mentioned.
Those are good rules of thumb to follow, because I’ve seen items that still weren’t at their expired or best by dates, but were swollen.
Also, if a jar doesn’t pop when it’s opened, I wouldn’t trust it. It didn’t seal properly during the preservation process.
Now, will things past their use by date taste yummy? Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. I’ve eaten crackers that were past the date when I first opened it. Fine for the first time, but not usually very good a day or two later.
Also bad eggs float because of the gas buildup in the shell. If they float, they’re bad; if they stay on the bottom they’re good. (yes, the pot you test them is full of water)
I just put them in a glass of water. If they float, they get tossed.
For people who buy canned food and pantry food from Amazon shipping, it is routine to get food almost at it’s use by date, and fairly common to get expired food, not to mention cans that are beat up and dented beyond anything you have seen in the supermarket, sometimes they have even burst open.
Old stock and ruined cans from Amazon make stocking up difficult, and rotating stock is impossible when you buy a product for rotation today and then 6 months from now buy its replacement and find the new one’s use by date predates what you already have on the shelf.
Amazon seems to be a dumping ground for old food.
That was a "nope" from me... into the trash can it went.
I usually can my own tomato products because they don't have that metallic taste that you get from the canned, but haven't had time lately. It's also such a mess of a production. I've heard you can buy canned sauce and just transfer it to jars and reprocess it. Anyone tried this?
I stopped taking these seriously when I saw salt, which is generally millions of years old unless harvested from the sea, with an expiration date.
Oh that does sound like a bad can. I bet it stunk, too.
I haven’t tried to jar a canned sauce. I either make my sauce from scratch or use Carfagna’s pasta/marinara/Pomodoro sauce (comes in a jar - a little pricey but I don’t have to add anything to it).
It used to be I could only find it in Ohio, but it has finally made its way to Indiana.
The answer was about concern that the plastic bottle imparts impurities in the water that might become harmful after the use-by date.
I'm not sure I'd care about that if I had gone three days without water.
-PJ
I’ve learned that the expiration dates mean the date for UNOPENED products. If you open a carton of milk, it’s not going to last until the use-by date.
Ambient yeasts in the air see to that.
I recently found an expiration date on a bottle of Sta-Bil!!!
The gas preservative doesn’t preserve.
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.
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