Sell by vs. use by dates on food items

[zoebartlett]

Random question here...

How long after the "sell by" date can you generally use uncooked chicken, ground meat, pork chops, milk, etc. I''m very clueless in the kitchen when it comes to this sort of thing. I have a feeling I waste a lot of food by throwing it out because I''m afraid of using it, although it may still be perfectly fine.

Thanks!

 

[diamondfan]

I go by color and smell. If it says sell by 10/10 and it is the 11th or 12th, it is likely fine if it has been properly refrigerated. However, stuff sometimes is really off by the date, even a sell by, and if so, out if goes. I have a sensitive nose and so I immediately toss anything funky. I hate to waste food but would much rather be safe than risk food borne illnesses.

 

[laine]

Milk, you're fine to use as long as it smells ok.

Meat is the same way, you'll know when its bad! If I'm not going to use it in a day or so, I throw it in the freezer (individually wrapped in plastic wrap and put in a freezer bag) and use it months later. in the fridge, it can go bad pretty quick, but I go by smell, not expiration date.

Eggs, I've used way past the expiration date, I just break them into a measuring cup to be sure they're ok. Again, you'll know very quickly if they're ok or not.

Honestly, I never really look at sell by/expiration dates, unless I've decided by smell/appearance that something is bad and am wondering when it expired.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 6/14/2008 8:20:30 PM
Author: laine
Milk, you''re fine to use as long as it smells ok.

Ditto to this. Also, the higher the fat content, the longer it''ll last in the fridge. So with those ultra-pasteurized items like heavy cream/half and half that already have usually month long sell by dates-they can go way past their "sell by/use by" dates which can mean around 6 weeks since you bought it.

I once bought packaged salmon and when I opened it the smell was so overpowering and disgusting that I almost puked. Seriously. It was THAT bad. Since then I have only bought fish that was either frozen or fresh from off the ice in the fish market.

Trust your nose.

 

[iheartscience]

Such a good question, Zoe! I''m super paranoid about my food and I know I waste way too much of it, too! A lot of times I call my mom and ask her what she thinks, actually...I just don''t cook enough to know what''s okay and what''s not okay!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Really, you can tell. If it looks or smells off, don''t use it. I never look at the dates for sell by or use by and I have yet to have any problems from it which saves me a lot of food and money.
Eggs last a really long time, same with most fruit juices. Milk and cream usually last for me at least a week past the expiration date, sometimes more.
Fish really don''t last, and that is something you should keep an eye on, although it is REALLY easy to tell when fish is bad.

Remember, people lived for thousands of years on this stuff with no expiration date, freezers or fridges. They trusted their eyes, noses and taste buds and managed just fine.

If it really bothers you, buy smaller portions so at least you are wasting less.

 

[Deelight]

The use by and sell by dates on food products are generally really conservative but like others have said if it doesn''t smell off it generally won''t be.

I always buy in bulk but split portions and freeze them until needed less waste and you save money .

 

[diamondfan]

I also think skim milk really goes bad almost to the day and whole milk and cream have a higher fat content and last longer. Trust your eyes and nose. Bad meat and milk smell awful, wilty yellow lettuce is inedible and looks it. Though those dates can be somewhat conservative so no one get sick and sues, clearly stuff does go bad, and you are the best judge of that. Proper refrigeration of food and proper food handling makes a difference. It is a bit like RX and OTC meds. Most over the counter stuff is fine within six months of the expiration and won''t hurt you, it just might be less effective, but still, I toss things. Some RX stuff is also likely to be fine, at worst, it is not as strong, but there are a few meds that when expired can metabolize into something dangerous. That is why I just toss and figure that I will buy a new tylenol or neosporin and feel safe using it.

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks everyone! I usually call my mom and ask her this type of question but she wasn''t home. I hate wasting food but it''s better to be safe than sorry I guess.

 

[SarFarSuperstar]

I''m in the smell it camp too. Bad meat smells bad. With eggs I generally go by the date on the carton but they do last a while. Milk and cream are pretty easy to tell. Butter takes a long time to go as long as it''s properly refrigerated.

 

[Pandora II]

I ignore all best before dates. I regard them merely as suggestions...

If it smells okay I eat it!

FI is forever throwing things out just because of the date on the box/tin/jar/packet and it drives me nuts.

Having grown up on a tiny island where the ship only came every six weeks (and sometimes forgot), most things were past the BB date before they even arrived, I got to realise that most things last a lot longer than you think.

I am careful about putting things in the fridge and I never keep cooked rice (in the UK the major cause of food poisoning).

 

[Rhea]

I smell things too. I tend to over-react a bit on the milk side of things though. I had bad milk once in college and that was enough for me. Food really does last much longer than the packets say.

 

[Sabine]

What about stuff that you freeze immediately? We accidentally made/ate chicken the other night that we had frozen the day we bought it, but realized we had bought it in NOVEMBER! Neither of us got sick...so I''m guessing it was okay, but that one really made me think about looking at the dates!

 

[sumbride]

Sabine - Most meats last for up to a year in the freezer without any problems, so your chicken was fine!

My DH is a stickler for dates too and I think it''s amusing because I''ve always been a smeller. So now he asks me to smell things for him. I think he doesn''t trust his own nose, or maybe he never let anything go bad before throwing it out so he doesn''t know what bad meat smells like. Of course, even if you have never smelled it, you''ll know when you do.

Small little factoid.... Honey never spoils or expires. EVER. Cool, eh?