When is Food Too Old to Use?

[mike carey]

I put this here rather than in one of the grocery threads over in the Lounge because the article offers comments on storage and cooking as the ingredients age. The article from the New York Times is old and I've read it before, but I still pick up minor points every time I read it again.

nytimes.com

WWW.NYTIMES.COM

 

[mike carey]

As the article notes, in the US there is apparently no requirement for these dates on food. It's different in Australia. 'Use by' dates must be carried on food labels when there is a food safety issue involved, and it's illegal for shops to sell food after a use by date. I've had a cash register refuse to scan food that was past its use by date. There are also 'Best Before' dates that reflect the time during which it will be in much the same condition as it was when sold but after which it is still sage to eat. Food Standards Australia and New Zealand has this explainer on its web site.

Use-by and best-before dates | Food Standards Australia New Zealand

WWW.FOODSTANDARDS.GOV.AU

There are several bodies like this that are the peak regulators across the two countries. And incidentally, I was today years old when I found out that Australia is Ahitereiria in Māori.

[+ sync]

If it's crunch time, locate a K-9 for a sniff test.  If there is the slightest hesitation, toss it.

[+ friendofsheila]

13 hours ago, sync said:

If it's crunch time, locate a K-9 for a sniff test.  If there is the slightest hesitation, toss it.

arent'  you risking the dog running off with it?

[+ sync]

51 minutes ago, friendofsheila said:

arent'  you risking the dog running off with it?

I would suggest offering only a small sample while holding onto it.  

[Nightowl]

8 hours ago, friendofsheila said:

arent'  you risking the dog running off with it?

If the dog runs away with it and gets sick, you’ve dodged a bullet.

[Luv2play]

2 hours ago, Nightowl said:

If the dog runs away with it and gets sick, you’ve dodged a bullet.

As a dog lover I object to feeding them possibly tainted food. Better just to toss it. The pain and suffering either to human or animal just isn’t worth it. 

[Nightowl]

Just now, Luv2play said:

As a dog lover I object to feeding them possibly tainted food. Better just to toss it. The pain and suffering either to human or animal just isn’t worth it. 

I’m an animal lover too and was just kidding 😀

[+ Charlie]

My spouse hated to throw anything away, and he often stored things "In case there is an emergency and we are trapped in the house for a long time and can't shop for food." The other day I opened a rarely-opened drawer in the kitchen and decided to check out that cache of packaged emergency foods in it. I threw away everything that had a  "best if used by...." label, if the date was before the COVID pandemic (during which we never needed to use any of it anyway). The earliest date on anything was 2010. At least it was packaged so well that nothing smelled.

[samhexum]

I have a few packets of gravy mix that predate the discovery of fire, which seems to make no sense.

 

[Luv2play]

16 minutes ago, Charlie said:

My spouse hated to throw anything away, and he often stored things "In case there is an emergency and we are trapped in the house for a long time and can't shop for food." The other day I opened a rarely-opened drawer in the kitchen and decided to check out that cache of packaged emergency foods in it. I threw away everything that had a  "best if used by...." label, if the date was before the COVID pandemic (during which we never needed to use any of it anyway). The earliest date on anything was 2010. At least it was packaged so well that nothing smelled.

I’m sorta like your late spouse. I hate throwing things away, thinking I might get around to using them. Obviously I’m talking about non perishables but sometimes they hang around for 10 years or more.

I do get around every once in a while to throwing stuff out. It wasn’t that long ago this included two cans of black beans I bought in Florida over 20 years ago. At that time I enjoyed Cuban style food in Miami where I lived. 

[+ nycman]

I’m a health freak when it comes to fresh food. I don’t store anything fresh for more than two or three days. After that it goes in the trash, no matter how good it looks. I make an exception for fresh eggs from the local farmer. Those ‘I’ll  keep for a week or more. For non-perishables my limit is about six months. I try to make a clean sweep of the pantry every three or four months. 

It’s a bit extreme, but I like it. 

[+ sync]

1 hour ago, Charlie said:

My spouse hated to throw anything away, and he often stored things "In case there is an emergency and we are trapped in the house for a long time and can't shop for food." The other day I opened a rarely-opened drawer in the kitchen and decided to check out that cache of packaged emergency foods in it. I threw away everything that had a  "best if used by...." label, if the date was before the COVID pandemic (during which we never needed to use any of it anyway). The earliest date on anything was 2010. At least it was packaged so well that nothing smelled.

I can relate, for me food is sacrosanct.  I cringe whenever I see food being disrespected as in eating competitions and food fights.  My thoughts go immediately to the food-depived populations.

[samhexum]

When it walks out of the fridge on its own.

[+ Charlie]

I have a neighbor who likes to cook, and now that I am a widower and she knows that my spouse usually did the cooking in our household, she often offers me food that she has prepared for dinner for herself and her husband, with the explanation that she made too much. Unfortunately, I don't really care very much for her cooking, but I can't very well refuse it, because I know that her offer is kindly intended. So I always accept it with thanks; then I usually taste it before I put it in the refrigerator. If I don't really want it for dinner, it usually sits there for a few days, but I can't leave it there too long, or she will ask for the container back. So my usual practice is to leave it for a few days, and if I really don't can't bring myself to eat it, I put it in my compost bin, clean the container and return that to her with my thanks for the delicious meal.

[Luv2play]

12 hours ago, Charlie said:

I have a neighbor who likes to cook, and now that I am a widower and she knows that my spouse usually did the cooking in our household, she often offers me food that she has prepared for dinner for herself and her husband, with the explanation that she made too much. Unfortunately, I don't really care very much for her cooking, but I can't very well refuse it, because I know that her offer is kindly intended. So I always accept it with thanks; then I usually taste it before I put it in the refrigerator. If I don't really want it for dinner, it usually sits there for a few days, but I can't leave it there too long, or she will ask for the container back. So my usual practice is to leave it for a few days, and if I really don't can't bring myself to eat it, I put it in my compost bin, clean the container and return that to her with my thanks for the delicious meal.

Wouldn’t it be heaven if she was a cordon bleu chef!

[Thelatin]

I used to be incredibly paranoid until I had a Colombian provider stay in my home a few times.  Loved his cooking, it also scared me lol.  He would literally leave chicken in the pot cold on the stove all week and keep eating out of it.  
 

He grew up without refrigeration, it’s just how they did it.  He would also burn the hell out of the food.  I’ve taken to cooking some of his recipes…but still use the fridge.   I will keep it a few days longer than in the past. 

[mike carey]

19 minutes ago, Thelatin said:

... He would literally leave chicken in the pot cold on the stove all week and keep eating out of it.  

... I’ve taken to cooking some of his recipes…but still use the fridge.   I will keep it a few days longer than in the past. 

I wouldn't leave things on the stove all week, but I'm not careful about putting things in the fridge straight away, I'll leave a stew on the stove or counter overnight before I put the whole saucepan in the fridge or put the food in tubs to store there, or freeze. I also only follow the intent of the 'don't refreeze' rule. Things can only remain safe for X amount of time out of the freezer, but if you take it out of the freezer for one day, that's only one of the days in the 'X'. I also happily refreeze the unused portion of a tub of food that I've reheated after thawing. I am careful with rice, though, freeze straight away, and if I thaw it and reheat (which with a rice cooker is most of the time), any left overs go back in the freezer pronto.

Oh, and at any given time I'll have jasmine, basmati and medium grain rice in the freezer.

[+ Charlie]

I was about to make a cup of coffee this morning, when I noticed an almost empty jar of Taster's Choice instant coffee at the back of the shelf. I checked the date on it, and it was November 2004. What do you think I should do?

[mike carey]

5 minutes ago, Charlie said:

I was about to make a cup of coffee this morning, when I noticed an almost empty jar of Taster's Choice instant coffee at the back of the shelf. I checked the date on it, and it was November 2004. What do you think I should do?

Use it, it's not as if it will have spoiled (as in be dangerous). The worst thing would be if it were tasteless. You may need to use more than you would if it were fresh. If it's horrible you can tip it down the sink. 

[samhexum]

2 hours ago, Charlie said:

I was about to make a cup of coffee this morning, when I noticed an almost empty jar of Taster's Choice instant coffee at the back of the shelf. I checked the date on it, and it was November 2004. What do you think I should do?

Hire a cleaning person to clean out your cabinets.

[+ purplekow]

19 hours ago, Charlie said:

I was about to make a cup of coffee this morning, when I noticed an almost empty jar of Taster's Choice instant coffee at the back of the shelf. I checked the date on it, and it was November 2004. What do you think I should do?

Have you considered asking that neighbor over for coffee?

[+ nycman]

4 minutes ago, purplekow said:

Have you considered asking that neighbor over for coffee?

If anyone ever served me 20 year-old Taster’s Choice, I’d kick their fucking ass.

Hell, serve me fresh out of a newly opened jar Taster’s Choice, and I’d still probably kick your ass.

It’s not coffee!

[+ Charlie]

I made a cup of coffee with it an hour ago, and it can't really compete with the fresh-brewed coffee I made yesterday, but it doesn't taste any different from what I remember Taster's Choice instant coffee tasting like years ago. So I might as well use it up rather than throw it away or put it back on the shelf. "Waste not, want not."

Edited July 12 by Charlie

[rvwnsd]

I don't like wasting food, but like @nycman I don't like to keep perishable fresh foods more than a few days. The solution to that dilemma is to buy reasonable quantities. Leftovers get refrigerated after I'm done eating dinner. If I left something on the stove overnight it would go in the trash.