#214: the italian spices in my cupboard expired in 2009

[specter_rot]

Would you eat food past its expiration date if it looked and smelled fine?

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<b><user name="questionoftheday"> asks:</b> Would you eat food past its expiration date if it looked and smelled fine?<br><br><b>My answer:</b>

Comments

[starfleetbrat]

For spices, I read that they never really go off, but that the effect they have on food is reduced. Like hot spices are no longer hot, and salty spices are no longer salty. Most spices are just dried and ground up plant material.

Other food though, it depends on the food. "Use by" dates I tend to stick to, you'll find "use by" on dairy and meat and anything that WILL go off within a few days or a couple of weeks. I might give it an extra day, but beyond that... no. "Best before" dates you can ignore and use your judgement. A lot of countries require food to have a best before date by law, so even stuff like Water has a best before date, and water never goes off (unless it's contaminated) it might go stale, but it's still fairly safe to drink. Even sugar and salt have best before days and they last forever. I've seen cola and canned food have best before dates and they last a long time too. The "best before" date is really there just to say "this food is probably still ok to eat, but it may have lost a little of its flavour and quality after this time period. Use your judgement."