Dumber than Dumb

[Larry & Rita]

How many of you pay attention to the "Use Before" Date.
My granddaughter just went thru our pantry and got rid of everything that had expired, Really.
Where was this date while we were growing up? Who really cared?
Who came up with the experation date?
As far as I can tell I lived.
What are your thoughts-I have to go to the store and will be back later, I have nothing to eat.

[RJay]

You get the prize for the funniest thing I've heard today. Back in the day, we would use our nose but I guess things have changed. That's what grandkids are for, to teach us the modern way.

[SyrenSkywolf]

Everything nowadays is so packed with chemicals and preservatives, using your nose doesn't always work, sadly. That is why I prefer fresh over canned

[papa&susu]

Glad she can not see my "use be date"

[wildtoad]

As the House Husband I get to find room for all the "stuff" that is brought into the house. DW will go buy things and bring them home and it all gets stuffed into what few cabinets we have. (small log cabin home). Usually that is the last time either one of us looks at what she just bought. I use the "Born on date" or "use by date" as a way to justify throwing it out just so ... well we can have more room for the new crap we won't use.

[num1dgh]

Our daughter just finished a bottle of ranch dressing yesterday and threw it away . . . we didn't remember when we bought it, and it was dated "Use by 2008." Ummmm . . . I guess it never smelled or tasted bad!! Definitely too many chemicals.

[bullheaded]

Quote:

Originally Posted by num1dgh Our daughter just finished a bottle of ranch dressing yesterday and threw it away . . . we didn't remember when we bought it, and it was dated "Use by 2008." Ummmm . . . I guess it never smelled or tasted bad!! Definitely too many chemicals.

Has happened to us, with Miracle Whip, more than once

[Kurmudgeon]

I think your granddaughter is brainwashed, and needs to learn to think for herself. Most things past the "use by" date will be just fine. The "use by" date is primarily so the manufacturer doesn't have to deal with complaints when someone eats something that may have developed a stale taste. I've eaten a lot of canned foods over the years that were more than five years old, some a LOT older, and I've made it more than 60 years without killing myself or getting sick.

If it smells bad, don't eat it. If the inside of the can is rusty, don't eat it. If it's growing, don't eat it. If it's moving, definitely don't eat it.

Common sense is a very uncommon thing these days.

JP

[RABBITFISH]

I ran across this once while my wife was throwing out my bottle of hot sauce....It too had a use by date..
Come on, vinegar, peppers, salt, aren't those the things that our grandparents used to preserve food with?
I never heard of pickles going bad... that's why they are pickled.
I think that the use by date also helps to keep the stock moving and encourage us to throw it away to buy more....

[Francesca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RABBITFISH . I think that the use by date also helps to keep the stock moving and encourage us to throw it away to buy more....

You got it!
The one exception might be meat and dairy products, which actually usually carry a "sell by" date- those things really do deteriorate over time, and the kind of things that can make one sick are not detectable by smell (E.coli, Salmonella, etc). If present, they can grow, though very slowly, in meat/milk. In my years as a Health inspector, those were the products I was trained to look out for the pull dates on.
By the way, despite (or maybe because of) my "expertise", I delight in getting the discounts given on "past pull date" products.
It's a comfort to know that it's against both the law and the store's self-interest to sell anything that isn't "wholesome", as it's called in legal terms.
If it's truly "bad", they'll throw it in the garbage where it belongs.

Francesca

[Theberrys]

So yesterday it was fine but today it will kill you, HUMBUG!

Dick

[decodancer]

My coworker has and uses things that have been outdated for years and is still healthy. I asked her for a boullion cube once and found the box dated 2002. I said no thanks even though she admitted that it was used in the soup I ate a week ago. I do use eggs and salad dressings past their date, too darned expensive to replace. I buy meat half price on it's last sell by date and boil it up and freeze for the dogs. They don't complain . I know my aspirin is uotdated but still takes away my headache.

[JMonroe]

There is a difference between an "Expiration" date and a "Best if used by" date. Read carefully, I'll bet most were "Best if used by: ".

[HeatAir]

We were installing a tankless water heater in the garage of a house (the old one was in the attic!).

The helper was tasked with moving the rack that held the widow's canned goods. He grabbed a can of pineapple rings and the can basically disintegrated in his hand. About the same time, the widow's son (and city fire marshal) walked in. He proceeded to take over the moving project.

When it was all over, his city vehicle contained all the out of date cans and my trailer had all the disgusting and exploded cans in it. The widow was, let's just say extremely unhappy with over half her canned goods leaving.

The liquids soaked into the wood floor of the trailer. Six gallons of bleach later, all was well.

Mildly out-of-date foods may be okay, not stuff 2-3 years out-of-date...