Best Before date...

[Behemoth]

The amount of people that call in where I work and scream at us (well sometimes) because they've bought somethng beyond the best before end date and shout blue murder that they want the store closing down, it's illegal etc etc.

When I tell them that it's not illegal for food beyond it's best before end date to be sold they errupt, I remember one woman complaining about this on a box of Tesco Value Vanilla Slices, they had a best before end day of 2004 on them ! She'd eaten and not suffered any ill effects, and she'd only bought them last week. She only noticed when she was throwing the box away.

[ik9000]

well my local store sells stale croissants that are within their use-by date. I've stopped buying them now, happened too many times

[peterb]

same goes in general it is far better to put frozen/chilled food into a HOT oven to reheat it. The rapid temperature change kills a lot more quickly than gradually heating it up achieves

That is true, but there js no point in killing the bugs after they have produced the toxin. In the case of rice (and some toxins that cause food poisoning) the toxin is heat resistant, so if the rice is left standing, the bacteria multiply and produce the toxins. Even if the bacteria are subsequently killed by heat, the toxin is still effective.

[BobF64]

Best way to avoid dying when eating out of date food is to go vegan, curiously. There are far less nasties that will spoil vegan food, they're far less dangerous if they do, and they're generally far easier to spot too...

Which just goes to show you, if even bacteria dont want it, we shouldnt eat it either!

[ik9000]

bit of thread resurrection - just been clearing out my kitchen cupboard and found some exotic things at the back... most I reckon are "game over man" but what do people think to unopened doritos salsa dips:

Best before dates July 2010, October 2010 and November 2011. Can't see any furryness from the outside - is it worth a try or should I just jetison them as a sacrifice to the lesser god of the rubbish chute?

[DannyM]

Well considering just how bad they taste when in date surely out of date can only be an improvement.

[g8ina]

Hermetically steam sealed stuff in glass will last for ages !

BB dates are just overkill and a rip off.

[csgohan4]

Some small retailers also put new best before stickers to taper over the expired food. So beware and always go for printed best before stuff which is usually branded stuff...

[doyll49]

Hermetically steam sealed stuff in glass will last for ages !

BB dates are just overkill and a rip off.

Have eaten 30 year old C-rations on may occasions... they were fine.. and I'm still here.

[csgohan4]

Have eaten 30 year old C-rations on may occasions... they were fine.. and I'm still here.

What they taste like?

[doyll49]

Take like any other canned stew, pound cake, pork & beans, spaghetti & meat ball, chicken & noodles, steak in gravy, ham & lima beans, apple sauce, fruit cocktail, peahes, pears, peanut butter and crackers, cheese & crackers, fruit cake, pecan roll, etc.

[csgohan4]

Take like any other canned stew, pound cake, pork & beans, spaghetti & meat ball, chicken & noodles, steak in gravy, ham & lima beans, apple sauce, fruit cocktail, peahes, pears, peanut butter and crackers, cheese & crackers, fruit cake, pecan roll, etc.

Seems like their all preserved in liquid. I guess that's what kept them ok. I doubt 30 year old bread would be edible

[ik9000]

not sure on the bread, though probably, but I can tell you with certainty that 10 year old Mars bar = bad. If anyone doubts it I can happily send you my last remaining unopened bar from the bbe2002 vintage multipack.

[csgohan4]

not sure on the bread, though probably, but I can tell you with certainty that 10 year old Mars bar = bad. If anyone doubts it I can happily send you my last remaining unopened bar from the bbe2002 vintage multipack.

lol, rancid

[ik9000]

lol, rancid

nah more just stale and slightly funny. We also found a christmas box from 2009 with chocolate coins in it. They tasted kind of similar. No ill effects suffered though. Not yet anyway!

[Butcher]

Chocolate does funny things if left too long - the fats tend to separate out so you get a weird texture and a somewhat off taste. Safe to eat, but not that pleasant.