Jim and I are very aware of expiration dates; he more so than I. I pitch the “essentials” (milk, eggs, yogurt cheese, etc.) within one day of the date printed on the carton, even if that’s just a “sell by”, versus consume by, date. Jim will go to the extent of purging cabinets of all expired things- dried spices, medicine, canned goods… stuff that I don’t even think about checking the dates of. Our tolerance for dates on these type items is more liberal (ie I’d take 2 month old Aspirin) but maybe it shouldn’t be?
Jamie once told us that toothpaste has an expiration date of 2 years from packaging but really Crest is good for 3 years. I feel okay with my one day after policy on most things because I assume that the FDA says X number of days when really it’d be okay for X + n (where n is some quantity of additional days relative to the item at hand).
When I looked online at HowStuffWorks.com about this it suggested that eggs, for example, be bought within 4 days of the date printed on the carton and used within a week. That tells me that three days after the date is still safe to eat. That would make me too nervous to actually do though.
My father is bad about watching dates and the kids get all riled up when he presents us with 2 month old salad dressing and the like. His issue is that he shops so much he keeps bottles of perishables with back-ups to those so that the back-ups expire before the primary bottle is finished.
I'm not sure if there is a politically correct way to refuse to eat/drink expired food at other’s houses when served. Recently Jim and I had breakfast with some people and Jim noticed that the butter used on his week old bread expired in January. Is he suddenly supposed to just not want the item he asked for any more once he realizes the dates? Do you say something? He kept his mouth shut from speaking but open for eating as not to be rude. He’s not dead yet so I guess that worked out okay.
About Me
- Karen
- Cincinnati native trying to juggle two kids, a successful marriage, a full time project management job and a part time teaching gig. Fortunately I love every component of my crazy life!
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9 comments:
I am very liberal on expirations dates, as most are best used by rather than this will make you sick by dates. For example, I just ate a thai noodle lunch (think roman noodles) and it said best used by 2010. the noodles were packaged separately from the spices and I cannot imagine if I ate them in 2011 they would be any different than they were today. If anything I would think that maybe the spices wouldn't be as flavorful. Milk and dairy I will only eat within a few days of expiration and if it smells okay.
Specifically on eggs - it's the quality that deteriorates from a use perspective, NOT so much the food safety perspective (to some extent, of course).
I am actually extremely liberal with use-by dates on eggs. That is probably one product I'm the most liberal with the sell by dates. Just this week I ate eggs that had a "sell by" date of mid March. They were fine. NOTE: When I'm getting to be more than a month past-date for eggs, I do the sniff test to ensure that they are still fine. I don't just go all willy nilly!
Back to the quality - use the eggs closest to purchase date if you want to make eggs over easy (where appearance matters, too with the yolk and white being more firm) or whip volume into them, such as for a meringue. This is grade AA or A (they say AA in the store, but really, by the time you take them home, they're just A). If you want to make hard boiled eggs, use the older eggs you have - they will peel far easier. These are typically grade B. They might even be grade C. Grade C is typically the lowest - use these IN things, scrambled eggs (omlets should use higher grade, though, because the fluffiness and texture is very important) and baked items (but not ones that depend on eggs for rising).
Also note: Eggs do not actually require refrigeration for short term storage. If you are going to use them with in several days, you can leave them sit at room temperature. Yes, the shelf life shortens, but really the quality (AA, A, B, C jargon) is what deteriorates at room temp. If you bought eggs tonight and really really want hard boiled eggs tomorrow for breakfast - let them sit out at room temp overnight before boiling!
Milk, however, I'm anal about, but that's more organoleptic quality than safety. I won't drink with it if it's been opened more than 2 or maybe 3 days. It's usually still safe, of course, but I can detect flavor changes. After that, I'll still cook with it. Same for cottage cheese. I've actually gotten better with cottage cheese - I will now eat it within 24 hours of opening. Before I would eat it just when opened and not even later the same day.
Also, with expiration dates - companies both strive for having as long a date as possible, yet they are also printed conservatively. They don't spontaneously combust to being unsafe on the printed date. If you're unsure, just do sniff or small taste tests when the expiration date is approaching and just past.
Also, for many items, the expiration date is just a guaranteed date for potency (such as aspirin and spices!). It's not that they're "bad", you just might need more of them to acheive effectiveness.
Oh, and butter doesn't expire quickly, either. If you find a great deal on it, buy it and store it in the freezer. I even always have a couple pounds in my fridge. I never even check it (and yes, I use unsalted, so it doesn't have the salt as "preservative"). If you freeze it for a year and then use it, it's going to look like it expired, though it may not have.
And oh, as for the Jim question, if it was something I was not comfortable with, I'd not say anything but not eat it, or eat just a little.
And if it doesn't kill you, it only makes you stronger.
:)
(for the most part...there are some things out there that I guess weaken you for the long run, but that's too pessimistic for me)
People don't refridgerate eggs or butter etc in Costa Rica - and the entitre country is still kickin'
Peanut butter has a short shelf life from what I understand - and most people might think it would last forever.
Perspective:
Greg and I have no sense of expiration dates... In fact, I think I have three+ year old food items in our pantry... Perhaps, who knows.
My theory - if it tastes bad pitch it. If not, cook it hard.
I know at come point we'll grow into details like that...
Miss you!
Karen I bet half the stuff I eat is expired.
And look at me, I'm doing all right... cough...
I eat eggs a month over "expiration" date...but it took a college class at UK to realize that they're ok, it's just the perception that they should expire so quickly that results in those dates. If it was a product consumed raw, that could possibly affect my decision. Milk on the other hand gets 3 days after opening and never past the sell by date. Marti, related to a discussion I had with one Nikki Oeler last night...what the heck is up with shelf stable milk??!? especially without an obvious preservative...I can't get my mind around that one.
I have a tale of Kashi, but would rather not go there. Just be warned: watch the food very carefully, it doesn't even have to be expired yet...
Recently, I caught a documentary on human evolution. It talked about how cooking food made it easier to digest. Therefore, a species that cooked it's food would be able to get more nutrition from less food. Leading to less time eating, less time hunting, and more time to do more productive things (learn how to make tools).
So, I no longer freak out about eating undercooked food. It probably won't make me sick. Worst case, I won't be able to properly digest it, and I'll have to eat again. In the past, I used to freak about undercooked food, now I just think, "Hey, I get to have a snack soon!"
Re Tom: Costa Rican life expectancy is 5% shorter than here in the good ol' U S of A.
MJ
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