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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2012 17:49:24 GMT -5
I made "Olive Garden" soup (the pasta variety) tonight and noticed that some of the ingredients I had on hand had "expired" in late 2011. That was the white kidney beans, the beef broth, and the diced tomatoes. The marinara sauce (in a jar) expired in June 2012.
DH would freak out if he knew this, but I don't think food expires the "minute" the date says. Even bottled water has an expiration date. No cans were dented, all of them gave off a comforting "pop" when I opened them, and none of them looked or smelled bad. Also, everything was being cooked before being eaten.
Would you have used them or tossed them? By the way, the soup was awesome, but there is so much that I had to freeze half.
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MarleyKeezy78
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Post by MarleyKeezy78 on Aug 12, 2012 18:07:19 GMT -5
I think canned goods would be ok, but I would have tossed the broth. But to each their own. My grandparents keep yogurt well after the expiration date and my grandpa says it's fine as long as it doesn't have mold, but I am not so sure! My 3 year old ate yogurt last time we were there and he threw up so there you go! As long as it tasted good and you don't get sick you're all good ;D
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2012 18:07:34 GMT -5
Used them, absolutely.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Aug 12, 2012 18:09:58 GMT -5
I probably would have tasted them all first, especially the broth but I'm not surprised it was OK.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2012 18:17:08 GMT -5
The broth was in a can, too. I smelled them all before using them. I am not sure if smelling doesn't tell you that it is off, that tasting would. And it was one expired can out of three, and they all smelled the same.
Why would broth (in a can) expire first?
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Aug 12, 2012 18:23:38 GMT -5
Leave some broth out on the counter for a couple of days and see. Part of it does depend on how salty it is. Broth can be a great medium for growing bacteria.
I like low sodium broth and my guess is that will turn sooner than high sodium broth as salt is a preservative. Certain foods degrade quicker than others.
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jaya3300
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Post by jaya3300 on Aug 12, 2012 18:24:28 GMT -5
I'd toss the stuff from 2011 unless it was dry goods (pasta, rice, spices, etc) That's too old for my comfort level. Hubby, on the other hand, would have no trouble with it.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2012 18:36:42 GMT -5
Bottled water has an expiration date because the plastic breaks down. Sometimes it more about the life of the packaging, but I don't always throw it away the next week....
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Aug 12, 2012 18:49:55 GMT -5
For me it depends what it is. Grains can break down quicker than canned goods so I'm iffier about rice the same time past expiration date unless it has been stored in the frig or freezer. Rice gets an off stale type taste but some people don't seem to notice.
Betty Crocker and similar cake, brownie mixes are usually OK a year after the expiration date because the oil "preserves" the flour and other dry ingredients to some extent. I do use old spices. They just taste less exciting.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2012 18:57:55 GMT -5
Actually, I always heard that old cake mixes were dangerous. I am much iffier about anything that isn't in a can and won't be cooked to a high temperature (boiling). But I've also heard that tomatoes are very acidic and so are less likely to go bad. The other stuff was less than seven or eight months old. Most people wouldn't even notice, but I write the exp. date on the cans to make it easy to read.
Still, it is a reminder to clean out some of my pantry. That makes me sad to throw away food when people are hungry.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Aug 12, 2012 19:02:18 GMT -5
Southern, where did you hear that about the cake mixes? If its true, I'll be more careful in the future. They didn't taste off to me, but it is true oils degrade faster than average too but usually I can taste that. If you find a link please post.
And I agree with you on the cooking thing. No three bean salad or similar with old canned goods.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2012 19:07:39 GMT -5
When in doubt, go to stilltasty.com. You can find info on expiration dates on just about every food under the sun.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2012 19:08:04 GMT -5
I always heard it, but then I checked it out on Snopes before posting here. It depends on whether you are allergic to mold and to whether your cake mix has mold in it. They do point out that your mixes can be within the expiration limits and have mold. And if they don't have mold or you aren't allergic, then it's all fine. But that just shows that we all hear different things. I avoid expired dry mixes like brownie and cake mixes, and you avoid stuff like canned beef broths.
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Peace77
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Post by Peace77 on Aug 12, 2012 19:10:32 GMT -5
I would have used them. Expiration dates are guidelines -- not absolute deadlines.
Some perishable food keeps several weeks past the expiration date as long as it is kept cold and not opened. Yogurt and cottage cheese are 2 examples.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Aug 12, 2012 19:42:11 GMT -5
I would have thrown out all of them. It seems like every time I try to push an expiration date I end up throwing up later that night. DH can eat the same meal and be fine.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2012 19:47:43 GMT -5
Kari, do you know it is expired when you eat it? There is stuff that I know something about how it was prepared that I just can't eat.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Aug 12, 2012 20:02:24 GMT -5
I suspect the dates on the canned goods was a "Best By" date and not an expiration date.
I'm kinda surprised no one questioned the canned tomatoes... out of all the things listed the canned tomatoes have the shortest shelf life...
There's a website: stilltasty.com with all sorts of info.
I try to use up my canned goods/jarred goods/box mixes by their 'best by date' - but sometimes I have something past that date and I make the effort to use it up. I can't remember ever opening a can or jar and having it be bad... but then I'm usually using up stuff within 6 - 12 months after the 'best by date'. Haven't ever had anything older than a year...
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 12, 2012 20:04:53 GMT -5
I would have used them. I'm also an "expiration dates are guidelines" person. The only thing I completely monitor is creamer. If it is opened for two weeks I toss it. I stock up and freeze them when I can get them cheap, but I'm very careful about watching them. The taste and smell have never been "off", but my body knows.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2012 20:33:57 GMT -5
Tasty.com listed a 12-18 month window for tomatoes. I always thought that because they were acidic, they had a longer shelf life than other canned foods.
Yes, most of these dates are "best by" dates, not really expiration dates. I don't care about the $$$ of throwing away food, but it does bother me that people are starving and I may be throwing away perfectly good food.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Aug 12, 2012 21:50:47 GMT -5
Kari, do you know it is expired when you eat it? There is stuff that I know something about how it was prepared that I just can't eat. The times I got sick I knew the expiration date before I made it and decided it wasn't too far out of date. I haven't done that on date stamped goods in years though because I am not a masochist. I still have a problem with perishables where I go back and forth on whether I should eat something. My biggest problem is with the bagged salads where one type of lettuce starts to wilt before the expiration date. This happens every couple of months. Sometimes I just pick out the wilted variety of lettuce and eat the stuff that looks good and it gets me almost every time. I also struggle with throwing out perfectly good food and my husband absolutely hates it. But I am sick of throwing up so I am determined to just get rid of it. I do donate to the local food bank so hopefully that makes up for all the fresh veggies and lettuce I have thrown away.
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servant_of_dog
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Post by servant_of_dog on Aug 12, 2012 22:11:27 GMT -5
I still have a problem with perishables where I go back and forth on whether I should eat something. My biggest problem is with the bagged salads where one type of lettuce starts to wilt before the expiration date. This happens every couple of months. Sometimes I just pick out the wilted variety of lettuce and eat the stuff that looks good and it gets me almost every time. I also struggle with throwing out perfectly good food and my husband absolutely hates it. But I am sick of throwing up so I am determined to just get rid of it. I do donate to the local food bank so hopefully that makes up for all the fresh veggies and lettuce I have thrown away. I love salads, and I get so angry at lettuce - it is completely random. Sometimes it lasts for over a week, sometimes it turns within days - totally independent of the "best by" date. The other thing is salad dressings - has anyone else noticed that they are increasingly close-dated? I eat salad 5 days a week and can't get through a bottle of dressing by the "use by" date. I use it anyway, but I feel weird about it.
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el1504
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Post by el1504 on Aug 13, 2012 5:45:30 GMT -5
I once read something about marketing where the guys says I can tell you how to triple sales of mouthwash - how? - increase the size of the cup provided in the mouthwash. Most people follow the instructions fill the cup to the level indicated, this would mean using three times as much mouthwash as they have prevously, therfore having to buy 3 times more mounthwash.
Anyway I think used buy dates are lmostly ike the mouthwash cups - there to convience you you need to through it out and buy more. Dh on the otherhand would never use something after its used by date (I don't tell him when I cook with something that has pasted the use by date).
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Spellbound454
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Post by Spellbound454 on Aug 13, 2012 6:22:12 GMT -5
You could have two dates.... a "Best before"......which means it has a long shelf life and you could probably use it after the date within reason.
or a "Use by".....which means it has a high protein content and if you used it after this date you could get food poisoning.
I definitely wouldn't eat food after a "Use by"..... Its not good enough to sniff it as some pathogens have no smell and some food poisoning bugs can be pretty nasty.
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Post by 973beachbum on Aug 13, 2012 7:15:24 GMT -5
The broth was in a can, too. I smelled them all before using them. I am not sure if smelling doesn't tell you that it is off, that tasting would. And it was one expired can out of three, and they all smelled the same. Why would broth (in a can) expire first? I have heard that botulism can't be smelled and that is what I really worry about when eating canned good after the use by date. I am old enough to remember my parents saying to make sure no can is bulging or looks like it is bad. If it was an old cake mix or rice or even freezer burned meat I could take my chances but botulism is something that scares me enough, since I know it can be there and not show any signs, to toss the 0.50 can of beans.
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Bluerobin
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Post by Bluerobin on Aug 13, 2012 7:50:13 GMT -5
Note to self: Do NOT eat at Susana's house!
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kimber45
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Post by kimber45 on Aug 13, 2012 8:32:19 GMT -5
My DH is very picky about expiration dates, I'm not so much as long as it is within a month or two if it is canned/frozen. Refrigerator stuff, I will usually throw out if it is a week or more beyond, unless it doesn't pass the sniff test.
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MB-NY
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Post by MB-NY on Aug 13, 2012 10:54:48 GMT -5
We're getting new kitchen cabinets this week, so we spent yesterday clearing everything out of the shelves. We found some canned vegetables and soup due to expire this month, so no problem with those. A couple of cans had just passed their dates withing the last two months, so we think those should be OK too. We did toss some spaghetti sauce from last December, and a couple of boxes of pasta that passed their dates maybe three months ago. They could have been good for all I know, but it's not worth it to take a chance. BTW; I also found some microwave popcorn in the back of the shelves that I had forgotten about. They were both dated July............................... 2004 and 2005. Whatta you think; were we right to have tossed those?
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Aug 13, 2012 20:38:48 GMT -5
I once read something about marketing where the guys says I can tell you how to triple sales of mouthwash - how? - increase the size of the cup provided in the mouthwash. Most people follow the instructions fill the cup to the level indicated, this would mean using three times as much mouthwash as they have prevously, therfore having to buy 3 times more mounthwash. Anyway I think used buy dates are mostly like the mouthwash cups - there to convience you you need to through it out and buy more. Dh on the otherhand would never use something after its used by date (I don't tell him when I cook with something that has pasted the use by date). I agree. These days, products that you don't even swallow have an expiration date: shaving cream, deodorant, dental rinse, etc. How is using out-of-date shaving cream going to hurt anyone? I think in all cases, common sense is key. I have a friend who worked in pharma sales and told me that even a lot of the drugs (Rx and OTC) are good waaaaay past the expiration date. Obviously, again common sense should be used. Anyway, a couple of months ago when I had a really bad cold, I woke up in the middle of the night with a cough that just wouldn't quit. I thought that we still had some Rx cough syrup in the house and dragged myself out of bed to find it; but when I did, I found that it was over a year past the "use by" date. Hmmm.... It was either that or get dressed and go out to get something else. I felt like crap and it was after 1:00 in the morning. I remembered what my friend had told me and felt like dying anyway, so I took a swig and got back in bed. Five minutes later the cough stopped and I got back to sleep. I would never do it with something like a heart med etc., but for a little cough syrup, OTC decongestants/antihistamines, Zantac, or something similar, I don't worry about it.
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