I used to follow expiry dates like gospel, figuring the sour cream would sweeten, the ice cream would melt, and the rice would crumble into dust the morning after after the the block-stamped date on the bottom of the package had passed. If the expiry date was closing in, I’d just cut my losses and chuck it. “Better safe than sorry,” I’d say, tossing a half-full carton of orange juice off the wall and into the garbage.
Then for the two years while I lived with Joey in Boston, I witnessed him first-hand casually disregard expiry dates with a wave of the hand and a slight laugh. “What’s going to happen?,” he’d ask sarcastically, putting together a salad with brown Romaine, rock-hard croutons, and Caesar dressing that poured out a film of oil before the dressing came out. “Am I going to die?”
And he had a point. While the nutritional content of last month’s blueberries may have slipped a notch, as long as they weren’t growing spores or starting to smell like a diaper, how bad could they be? I watched Joey carefully from a distance for a while, looking for signs that he was putting himself at risk. But no, nothing. He kept right on standing. No retching from his bedroom late at night, no disappearing rolls of toilet paper and clogged pipes, no sudden hospital visits after eating doggie-bag chicken wings from someone’s birthday party a month before. He was all right.
And so with newfound courage I slowly started testing the waters. Cans of soda seemed like easy first targets. I don’t even remember them having expiry dates when I was a kid, and so the terse finger-wagging printed on the bottom of the aluminum can seemed like a bit of a joke. Who throws away an unopened can of Diet Pepsi? I suppose Pepsi would love it if we just bought their stuff, stashed it for a while, and then threw it out. But I would no longer stand for that. So I conquered soda, then branched out into potato chips. They go stale when you don’t seal them, they stay fresh when you do, right? So the date probably applied if you left them sitting in a bowl on your coffee table, I eventually figured. I bought them, I’ll eat them, even if it takes me till Christmas.
It was tougher to be brave with bread and milk, but I convinced myself that worst-case scenario I was just eating penicillin and cheese. I pictured a cracker with a square of brie and a pink capsule squished right into it and I thought “That’s not that bad.”
And so it went. Buying groceries just for myself got easier, knowing that I had the newfound strength to down yellow orange juice or slice up onions that had grown roots and were searching desperately for soil under my kitchen sink. Plus, I saved a lot of money, and I like to think I helped give my immune system some tough new cases to crack, like sending it to the gym for some strength training and mental focusing so it’s ready for prime time. This way I’m ready in case I ever get shot with a poison dart or mistake a glass of paint thinner for water.
Now, I’m not advocating being stupid. The fuzzy lampchops should probably still be left alone. But come on, let’s hear it for pushing a little bit harder. Let’s here it for testing the waters. Let’s hear it for eating things past the expiry date.
AWESOME!
I find it hilarious that the sour cream sweetens. What does sour cream do when it expires, it’s already sour! I’ve drank expired pop before, it doesn’t taste at all like it’s going to kill me, but a fresh can tastes better. Go not wasting food!
Really? That’s so funny. I’ve always been quite careful with milk-based products. However, I find that yogurt can keep for at least 2 or 3 days nicely.
This one freaked me out last time around and it still freaks me out.. I just can’t get behind this one.. the idea of one day taking a sip of milk that has gone sour turns my stomach..
However, despite the above, I’m strangely fine with taking medicine well past the expiry date.. I always sort of assume that it’s not dangerous, it just might not be as effective..
But sour milk is still GROSS! :)
So the narcotics are fine, but the sour cream isn’t? LOL!
I’ll keep the milk if it doesn’t smell. The slighest bad smell that comes from it makes me pour it down the sink.
FREDDOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! You don’t know how happy I am to hear (ie. read) from you!! I only just found out yesterday from Jdurley that you had been spotted here and there and here again. So happy to have you back man :DDDD
As for off milk, I once poured curdled milk all over my cereal, and had to throw the perfectly good crunchy nut out :( I ALWAYS check the expiry date on any milk carton before I use it now. Same goes for yoghurt and cream/sour cream. We’ve only once ever had a bottle of coke survive in our house past its used by date, and it didn’t taste right so we didn’t drink it. Other foods I’m more lenient about. Most of the time my dad buys more bread than we need and there’s no room in the freezer so half the time there’s one loaf on the counter with mold on it. I won’t eat anything that’s gone softer than it should be- I hate soft apples/nectarines/plums/pears anyway, so over-ripe soft fruit are even worse!- or has turned a funny colour or started to mold or smell (juice is usually fine for about a week after) but yes, most foods are fine! It’s an estimation of ‘best before’ date, not ‘eat this after this date and you’ll die’ date. There’s a lot of employment of common sense in these kitchen wars.
Taking expired antibiotics can actually kill you, so I’d reconsider that stance.
If you’re afraid of sour milk, buy UHT pasteurized milk. It’s processed by ultra high temp pasteurization, which kills more of the bacteria in the fresh milk and makes the stuff last for ten times as long in the fridge without going sour. Most brands of organic milk are UHT processed because they sell slower than normal milk. I grab a gallon of organic milk from the back of the shelf and it’s usually got an expiration date about 2 or 3 months from now. Vac packed UHT milk doesn’t even need to be kept in the fridge till it’s opened.
LOL…this is so timely! Several days ago I got eggs out of the refrigerator to boil. As soon as I dropped them in the water, I knew something was up. They floated! I checked the carton: Hmmm, I’d bought them pre-surgery, which means in early April or maybe a little before. Common sense told me to throw them away, but I thought there’s no way I’m throwing away what could be perfectly good eggs! So, I boiled them (that kills the bacteria anyway, right?) and cracked them…and that’s when I realized that there is a date on eggs for a reason. Those eggs stank to high heaven! LOL! So, they went into the trash and I got out some newer eggs (carton said they expired in late May, so much fresher!) and boiled those. Perfectly fine!
Normally, I view those sell bys as kind-of-sort-of-suggestions as in “within a few months of this date, you should probably soon if possible eat this” unless it’s not a fresh-type food, in which case 6 or more months after date is fine. This applies to things like salad dressing, applesauce, salsa, jelly/jam, and other such stuff. I do agree with Freddo on sour milk, though…ugh! ~Kathy
Love your story! I eat eggs well past their date too. I haven’t run into any that was bad yet. I think that experience would have turned me away from eggs for a while. LOL
I just ate an Easter egg.
Yes. I do still have Easter chocolate in July.
Mmm… Expired chocolatey goodness…
Oh, the chocolate eggs. You scared me for a bit. I thought you meant real eggs, I’m sure it would have been really gross and smelly by now if it was real.
I have old candy that I still eat. I swear we keep Easter candy in the house until the next Easter rolls around.
I have a chocolate Cadburys Crème egg Easter egg that has an expiry date of July 2014 – I am hesitant to throw it away as money is tight this year and some unsuspecting relative might be getting it if it is safe to eat! –
I think that’s why my grandfather is now 93 years old. Most of the stuff in his kitchen is expired because he claims that “expiration date” is just balderdash, and recently he scoffed when I refused to eat some very gray-green-ish furry rasberries. He picked out the less furry berries and ate them. o___O
I’ll eat it past the date as long as its not gross. If it smells or is a color its not supposed to be, it goes in the trash. Food costs a lot of money these days, I’m not going to throw perfectly good stuff out.
Agreed!
in 2010, i used to have a jar of peanut butter that had been expired for 2 years. i had been wanting to scoop out all the peanut butter inside and threw it away since i usually separate the recycling and the garbage but didnt get the chance to do it, so it was just sitting there in the cupboard. one day, a friend had a sleepover at my place and i told her to feel free and grab anything she wanted to eat for breakfast if i hadnt woke up. so the next morning, i got up just before she left for work and she told me that she took the bread with peanut butter (yes, the peanut butter that expired 2 years before) i was shocked and i told her that it had been expired for 2 years, and she was shocked. but nothing happened to her, no vomit, no food poisoning :) and she’s still fine until now
I had to do an entire stupid project on this subject. The FDA and professors or nutritionists worldwide agree that expiry dates are merely a guideline, and as long as it doesn’t look too disgusting it’s fine to eat. Sometimes we even misinterpret sell-by dates for expiry dates.
I agree, I’m not reluctant to eat expired foods. We keep our fridge colder than usual, so our foods keep for longer, but use prudence. Some folks think if they cook food, bacteria will be killed, so no foul, but don’t forget, some bacteria actually produce toxins in your food (botulism, anyone?). Damaged canned goods are always a no-no. Do be careful about expired pharmaceuticals, though – some become quite toxic as they break down – tetracycline is one you should never take after expiration, for example. I imagine you could check somewhere like WebMD, to determine what meds break down.
I approve of this message. I will easy almost anything. I read somewhere that meats go bad fast, but i have yet to find a food that won’t last at least a week as leftovers. Expiration dates don’t mean anything, if it’s edible, it’s fine, if you don’t like it, toss it.
Sliced ham is about the only thing i ever throw out. I’m not a big fan of the way it changes color and the smell will give away a bad package quick.
I eat foods past their expiration date all the time. I’ve had yogurt that had expired a couple months earlier. I cut the mold off of cheese and eat it anyway. Rice milk last for ages. I can drink that two months after I opened the container and it’s okay. I’m rarely sick! I did have a bad experience with some orange juice. I think it had expired two months earlier. I should have smelled it first. I drank a tiny amount and vomited. It smelled like bleach.
Cadburry Eggs in July. Yum!
This post is over the top. Most of the things that you are advocating eating past the expiry date shouldn’t even be consumed before their expiration because they are just so filled with chemicals, preservatives, and artificial everything.
I would challenge that your 1000 Awesome Things post for today should have read …
no pesticides, no growth hormones, no prophylactic antibiotics, nothing refined, no artificially sweeteners, no artificial coloring or no artificial flavors – supporting REAL food – Free Range and Organically Produced is AWESOME!!! If you do any research, it doesn’t taste any better but composition wise is so much better for us.
I generally enjoy your posts and can even overlook the odd “gross” posting. In a world where food is so dictated by large conglomerates (McDonalds & KFC if you watch the Food Inc Documentary), which affects not only the food purchased in fast food establishments but even the “healthy choices” most people naively think they are making in the supermarket, I cannot remain silent. Unfortunately, I don’t feel you are right though because even if you consume these products before their expiry date they are going to KILL YOU! How many diseases are linked right back to poor food choices – Heart Disease, Obesity, Cancer, Diabetes. Worse yet how difficult is it for the working poor and unemployed to put healthy options on their tables? To have people think it won’t harm them is just unethical for you to suggest.
I have to tell you that this post has just upset me to my core. I subscribe to your emails because I want something positive to look forward to and enjoy in my inbox. Many more posts of this nature and I am afraid I may need to rethink that decision.
………………………. Not sure whether this is a troll……. o.O
Methinks thou worries too much Karen, too much stress can kill you. Expiration dates on items are because of the wonderful state of New Jersey. Expiration dates are just guidelines due to bureaucracy. Have you seen an expiration date on rubbing alcohol? Go check, I’ll wait…
Many long years ago, my boyfriend made chili from ground moose meat that had been in his dad’s freezer for (who knows) how long. Even after the thawed out meat looked and smelled iffy, he went ahead making the chili, thinking that it had something to do with it being wild meat. The chili tasted OK because of the spices. Wrong decision! Boy was he sick!! Ha Ha. He lived, though. Lesson learned: do not eat expired meat of any kind!
Sorry he was ill, but very funny story! Expired moose meat?! Oooh, even in my food bravery I’d not attempt iffy moose meat! LOL!
just yesterday I had a chai latte which expired in December last year… Still tatsted just as good to me!
I’m always really nervous about eating things past the expiration date. I’m worried that if I do, I’ll end up having something burst from my stomach like in that scene from “Alien”, or that I’ll sprout antlers or something. Maybe I’m too paranoid.
Ok. Gross story that happened just now. Here I am, early in the morning at work wanting something for breakfast. We have a vending machine that has all kind of goodies in it. Muffins, egg sandwiches, pepperoni rolls, burritos and all kinds of the sorts. I decided chocolate milk was the way to go. I put in my $1.35 and pulled it out. Trusting the vending machine guy who was just here checking the dates and filling up the machine on Wednesday, I took a big swig. EW!!!! It was bad. It had expired only 2 days ago, but it was bad. It tasted bad, it smelled bad. I usually smell my milk before I drink it, but I didn’t this time. Vending machine guy…. you have let me down. I hope I don’t get sick. I wanted to throw up, but refrained.
According to Neil, if you threw up you’d feel much better:)
*As for expiry dates, seen a case of botchulism and have some sensitives in the family so must say I air to Food Safe leading lesson and quote, “If in doubt, throw it out.”
I don’t think that is safe , but for some people it is better than throw it away .
There are those small Ring Donuts which we got from the super market, and I ate a full box of those when was young. They were expired and after two days of terrible stinky farts all was fine. I came to this page because the just ate some expired chocolate brownies…
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I just had to point out that bread doesn’t grow penicillin, Penicillin-creating molds are white in colour, and primarily grow on oranges. Bread mold is inherently different, but not necessarily toxic. Great article with many important arguments. Expiration dates are mostly just a way of saving the company’s ass in legal situations.
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As someone laid up with food poisoning right now, from either expired salsa… or bad milk in a frothy coffee beverage vending machine, I’m ever so much more recommitted to expiration dates. I thought I was going to explode on the BART train.