sell by dates

I know that quite all products can be eaten a few days after the expiry date, but I am always careful with fresh food, and I would not by example eat an egg after this date, so I dump sometimes food that is perhaps good... or perhaps full of bacteria.

I never dump food. Expiry dates are very liberal and food can be used much longer. I always smell and have a good look at food that is past sellby date, before I eat. Another good test is to give it to your cat. If she eats it, you can too.

It's better safe than to be sorry, this is what I believe in. I'd rather throw that expired chicken or yogurt rather than risk a trip to the hospital due to food poisoning. I have a sensitive tummy so I will compute the cost of my hospital bill against the food that I am about to throw out.

Actually, I think I do pretty good with those dates, I found a 12 pack of mac & cheese by the dumpster at Maggie's apartment complex. It said "best by" and a date almost a year earlier. But it was still securely packaged, I took it inside and she has been happily having nearly free mac & cheese since August! Nearly because you still have to add butter & milk (sometimes on the milk) after all...

I don't really pay much attention to those dates, so I probably would not toss something if it was past the "sell by" date ... that is if I even realized that it was past it. There are so many preservatives in most things now that those dates are pretty much meaningless anyway. Of course, if something does not look or smell right, then I am not going to risk eating it, but that is a bigger indication to me than a "sell by" or "best used by" date.

Wherever the expiry dates are mentioned one does not feel comfortable to buy the stuff after the expiry date. I was shopping for chocolates in Australia and there I found a stack full of them at terribly reduced rates. I picked a few and when I went to the cash counter I happened to look at the expiry date and these chocolates were already a year older than the date of expiry. I did not buy them although they could have been harmless.

I have developed the habit of noting the best before dates when i buy stuff for home consumption. As for those wherein we will be consuming the stuffs immediately, i pick those which are nearing expiration dates. As for those which i will be having in stock, I pick those which are just new and will take months until expiration date. So, generally, I need not dump any food that i buy. Except for the vegetables and the kinds of stuff related to it, which just wilt or rot before I could cook them all. At times, there are some fruits that has to be thrown away because, i forgot all about having bought some. lol.

I'm very particular with the expiry dates especially processed foods. I knew too that manufacturers have given an allowance before stamping the goods due date. So it's still safe for human consumption for maybe a month but for me I don't take that chances.

Inever dump food after the sellby date. Shops are very careful and their expiry date is well within the limit. When I want to eat food that over its selling date, I examine it, smell it and eat it. A good way of finding out is to cgive it to your cat, if (s)he refuses you can't eat it.