Poll: food: how expired is too expired?

[lechat]

so i just got done munching on a particularly tasty bit of 2 month out of date packaged sliced chicken and it suddenly occurred to me I've never met an expired food item i haven't eaten
i mean shy of the food being fuzzy, smelling like a toilet or crawling away on me i don't think i'd ever consider something out of date that has been decently packaged

maybe it comes from years of eating shady bakery pork rolls, working in food factories or the fact that i haven't had food poisoning in 20+ years but i do not take expiry dates seriously

so the obvious question. assuming the food is packed right in hygienic conditions how far out of date will you go?

 

[Hoplon]

Mostly they are for super markets to avoid getting sued by people getting sick. depends in part on the product in question, tinned goods can be okay for years, fresh fruit and veg.. well it's pretty obvious anyway.

But for something like chicken a few months out of date it is risky.

 

[Keoul]

I don't care so much for date as much as for appearences.
If I see mold or it smells off then I won't eat it, otherwise I totally ignore the expiration date, except for milk, milk are assholes that expire in a snap.

 

[JoJo]

Same, I don't really pay attention, though I do try to eat things like meat within their date if I can, and some food such as bread will go mouldy very quickly regardless of the date on the packet.

 

[geK0]

Dates are pretty much just there to give a solid "do not sell this" point for stores. For my personal purposes though, I'm more than comfortable with the smell test and a visual inspection.

 

[Tom_green_day]

The date is just a guideline. If you open something and don't leave it in a fridge like cheese then it could go off within a day. It depends on the food but mostly if it's running out or has ran out I'll eat that ASAP

 

[Zhukov]

I once got a block of chocolate in an army ration pack that was three years and change past its use-by date.

Still ate it.

Tasted a bit funny, like cocoa powder, not really sweet at all. I guess the sugar had... I dunno, crystallised? Whatever sugar does if you leave it in a sealed packet for several years. Or maybe it was just shitty chocolate to begin with.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

I won't eat much past the sell by date.
Meat is okay if it's been frozen, eggs can last a long while if they're refrigerated.
Rice and canned food last for a long long time.

If I notice the milk is getting close to the date, I always smell it first.

 

[Total LOLige]

One day before expiry, I don't like eating anything on the day or days after expiry.

 

[Jayemsal]

I once got a block of chocolate in an army ration pack that was three years and change past its use-by date.

Still ate it.

Tasted a bit funny, like cocoa powder, not really sweet at all. I guess the sugar had... I dunno, crystallised? Whatever sugar does if you leave it in a sealed packet for several years. Or maybe it was just shitty chocolate to begin with.

Seeing as it was an army ration, they probably went with unsweetened chocolate.

 

[Screamarie]

Depending upon what it is I don't let it get past a few days expired before eating. But then again I've had...experiences with bad milk...it was painful and gross and I don't want to go through that again so...yeah I'm gonna play it on the safe side.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

Does your food look like this?

In that case, it's probably a bit too expired but should still be ok. Although I wouldn't risk it for another week.

 

[Vegosiux]

Well, when eerie glow and grasping tentacles from your fridge overwhelm you when you open it, I'd suspect something's gone bad in there. But, to answer the question seriously...

It depends on the product, really. Dairy, meat, those things don't get much of a buffer. Jerked stuff though, that lasts a while, canned food as well. But yeah use your eyes and nose basically.

 

[Dags90]

I'm kind of paranoid about it. I don't drink milk, but I won't use milk in coffee or a recipe even if it's a bit before the sell by date. I usually try to give it like a week since it's been opened as an absolute max.

The CDC guidelines for leftovers is to eat them within 48 hours, and that cooked food shouldn't be left unrefrigerated for more than 2 hours between 40F and 140F. Less if it's hot out/inside.

 

[Redd the Sock]

Depends on the food. I don't take chances with Yogurt, Mayo, and similar goods known for problems, but I'll go for the canned goods or pasta that have been in my cubbord 2 - 3 years.

Though, sometimes tossing expired food is a pragmatic thing. I found an unopened bottle of ketchup in the fridge that I got when I moved in 5 years ago and felt, good or not, if I haven't even opened it by now, I never will so I should toss it for the shelf space.

Then if you want a challenge I have an aunt with pickled preserves that (if the labels are to be trusted) are older than a couple of the Star Wars prequels. Yeah, not even trying.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

If it looks alright to me I'll generally have it, but anything over a month or so is a bit dodgy. Does depend on the food item though. I once tried an energy drink which expired over 10 years ago. I'm not dead. So...

 

[Lawnmooer]

Depends on what it is really...

Milk/eggs etc then a day or 2 max would be my limit (Though those are easy to check whether they're good or not... Either a strong smell or the check whether they float in water thing)

Canned food has no expiration date. If there's no air in there (Airtight container...) then it should be fine (Again it's pretty easy to test, since opening it up will show a consistency change in it... Solid soup or liquefied whatever's)

Packaged food can vary, I often eat packaged food a month or 2 out of date, it depends on what it looks like.

Pies I don't let last more than a week so I wouldn't know my limit on that...

Fruit and fruit-based drinks I stop when they start fermenting... (Don't pay attention to how long that takes)

Meat is pretty easy to tell when it's gone bad aswell... Generally 2-3 weeks past the best before date.

Chocolate I'll eat several years past the date, as I proved that time I ate a Twix I found on a bus that was like 7 years old or something near that date (I was fine, my digestive system is amazing...)

Cheese is fine pretty much whenever, just scrape off the green and it's fine (The cutoff point is when it's more mould than cheese and you'd essentially have to surgically cut the cheese out of it)