Foods You Can Safely Eat Past The Expiry Date
We all need to start shopping smarter to help stop the abundance of food that is wasted every day. However it can be so confusing to know what is actually still ok to eat when shops put a hundred and one different labels and dates on. So we have decided to break it down for you.
Sell-by date: How long the store can display the product
Use-by date: The last date that the product is at peak quality
Best before: The best date for flavor and quality
First off ‘Use-by’ is usually given to perishable foods that are likely to go off quite quickly. Meat and sea foods are perfect examples.of ‘Use-by’. It is extremely important to listen to this label as while it might look and smell ok, meat when off can harbour very serious air born bacteria like salmonella and can cause food poisoning.
A Best before label however is just to the date in which the flavour and quality is at its peak. Therefore, more often than not foods stamped with a best before can be ok to eat after the date stated as they are less perishable.
What Not To Eat Past Expiry
Never eat fresh fruit, meat, ground meat, fish, shellfish or soft cheeses, juices or jarred condiments. Use your common sense when deciding if the foods listed above are ok. If they look or smell funny, its best to be cautions and throw it away.
Foods that are still Ok after their expiration date
Eggs – These are good for at least 3-4 weeks past their expiry date; as long as they are kept refrigerated at the right temperature. You will definitely know if a egg is off as soon as you break the shell.
Canned Food – Canned has a vacuum seal so that any air and/or bacteria can not get in. Canned corn for example can be completely fine up to 1 year past the expiry date on the tin. Although it is best to use as soon as possible. The longer it’s left the less flavours it will have.
Cereal – Due to being a dry processed food, there is not much moisture which greatly improves its life well past the date given. If stored in an air tight container cereals are good to eat 1 to 3 weeks past the expiry. However if its not sealed properly they will become stale. Crisps are another great example of this rule. As long as the packet is sealed then there no need to panic.
Dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, sugar, salt and baking powder. Salt technically does not have the capability to ‘go off’, other dry ingredients are DRY so it reduces the moisture in which foods need to start going bad and growing mold. However always check for pest infestation especially wheat bugs in flour.
Pasta – these are the same principle as other dried foods. They are dried in such a way they will not go off for a long while provided they are stored in a air tight container in a dry location. This is the same for pasta as well as uncooked rice. They can be fine 2 year after the date given.
Honey – Believe it or not but honey can last indefinitely. Due to the fact it has a low-moisture form of sugar the growth of bacteria can’t thrive in there plus honey is actually high in acidity. So it can kill off any other bacteria trying to grow. As long as your honey is properly sealed and stored in a dry place, it should last forever.
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