food Do You Eat/Drink Food/Drinks Past The Expiration Date?

[Venomous 18,813]

Just as the title asks, will you eat/drink food/drinks past the printed expiration date? If so, how long after? Is there a limit? I will not eat food or drink anything if it is one day after its printed date.

[PiratePony 8,473]

All the time. Best By dates rarely mean the item has gone bad.

 

Milk, eggs, meat, that's an exception.

 

Non perishable items though shouldn't have arbitrary dates.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,283]

15 minutes ago, PiratePony said:

All the time. Best By dates rarely mean the item has gone bad.

This is true. Best By literally mean that the food will start losing flavor past that date. Not that the food will be bad. It just may start to taste bland. Some things are dated just because people wouldn't buy them if they DIDN'T have a date. Things like packaged snack cakes. case in point? The mythic Twinky, that has a shelf life measured in DECADES! 

 

I watched an episode of NCIS once. The characters weren't allowed to leave. Everyone was hungry. Tony DiNozzo took a Twinky out of the evidence locker and ate it, even though it had been there for something like 12 years. He claimed it still tasted the same.

 

 

Fun fact: Honey doesn't ever go bad...EVER. If it hardens to a crystalline form, just heat it up a little, and it's as good as new!

Edited February 12, 2019 by cuteycindyhoney

[SparklingSwirls 21,261]

I usually eat very healthy, fresh food so no, I don’t eat food past the expiration date.

I always buy ultra pasteurized milk so it lasts longer  

Edited February 13, 2019 by SparklingSwirls

[Megas 27,065]

I only avoid if it smells or looks spoiled, regardless if it's passed the expiration date. I've had milk go bad on me even when it's unopened or hasn't been expired

[Phosphor 11,522]

Sometimes. Lots of sealed snacks are fine after their expiration date. 

I love parmesan cheese that's 2 years past it's best by date. Seems to taste better to me.  

[Patty Thundersnow 4,129]

The dates put on the package are rarely the expiration date. So yeah, I actually do eat foods that are past their "best by" date. You can't look a gift horse in the mouth when it comes to getting food from the food pantry.

[CheeryFox 23,811]

Yeah...I don't care. The oldest thing I had was 7-8 years past the expiration date: pretzels. 

[PaulBron 173]

Yes, I never have get sick by eating food past of expiration, but that not happen too often with me

[Cash In 21,517]

No, I avoid it as much as possible, as I'm paranoid that something will go wrong.

[heavens-champion 1,893]

Not really. I'd prefer not to get indigestion.

[Meson Bolt 2,647]

I've gotten sick a couple times doing this before, but that doesn't stop me from eating expired foods. Food is expensive, people! :c

Although I will *not* drink expired milk under any circumstances. That's just asking to get really sick.

[Hardway Bet 96]

I only throw food away if it's getting gross or if it's legitimately dangerous to eat it if it's gone bad. I've got the temperature in my fridge turned pretty cold, though, so just about everything keeps longer than normal. My last, most adventurous meal was mince meat from an open package that was three days past its use by date, and it was just fine. Though of course, with mince meat, you can easily tell by the smell if it's bad.

[DixonTheAdversary 1,631]

Within reason. I'll probably eat if it hasn't been opened yet and is just barely past its date.

[Messy Mane 9,006]

All the time. 

As a matter of fact last Saturday I ate a can of Chili that was one year past it's date because I wanted a frito pie sooo bad.Tasted completely normal to me lol

the only things I will not eat past date are milk and bread.

[TBD 17,228]

Drinking? no. Food like packed snack? yes. But as long it's not  3 years old or more.

[Brony Number 42 9,932]

I buy bakery items on discount when they are on the last day.

[Dreambiscuit 8,024]

Some food lasts longer than others, and I don’t mind eating some of them when they go beyond their expiration date. It’s really more of an ‘enjoy by’ date than an actual deadline for safe eating, and suggests more of a guideline than actual point of no return. There are a few exceptions I don’t like to mess with, like milk, ground beef and some produce like lettuce. But I can let it slide on most other things, within reason.  

[Lucky Bolt 34,914]

Depends on what kind of food it is. If it's something like chips or crackers, or canned foods, I may still do it, but if it's refrigerated or frozen foods, like milk or ice cream or cheese? Nooooo way. 

[EpicEnergy 22,082]

Sometimes if it is only a few days past the expiration date, but for the most part I don't.

Also, some unopened sodas in cans can be consumed up to a year after it's expiration date without any bad consequences, so I've drank some sodas months after their expiration date and they tasted normal. I actually did an experiment with Mountain Dew about that, I saved two cans of it for about a year after its expiration date and tried it, and it tasted normal.

[Concerned Bystander 2,901]

If a product has a 'use by' date then you're well advised to not consume it past that date.  On the other hand, if it has a 'best before' date then that is simply a date chosen by the manufacturer after which they deem it has passed its optimum condition and the taste or texture may begin to deteriorate.  Such products are still perfectly safe to consume for a period of time after that date.  As long as it still smells okay, tastes okay, and feels okay, then it's still good and if you throw it out immediately then you are simply wasting perfectly good food, and money.