[Jamie89]

Or do you throw it away?


East of England Co-op will become the first major retailer to sell food beyond its "best before" dates.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42217026

"This is not a money making exercise, but a sensible move to reduce food waste and keep edible food in the food chain."

The retailer estimates the initiative will stop at least 50,000 items a year being thrown away.

[Niamh.]

Depends what it is really, if it looks and smells alright and it's only a day or so past the date I would still eat it. Dairy stuff I'd be a bit funny about though so probably wouldn't

[smudgie]

We have been known to throw tins away, if they have been left at the back of the cupboard for a few years.
But unless it has a use by date on it then we are not too prissy about it.

[Jamie89]

Originally Posted by ChristmasNeeve

Depends what it is really, if it looks and smells alright and it's only a day or so past the date I would still eat it. Dairy stuff I'd be a bit funny about though so probably wouldn't

Best before is really just foods that don't go off, but start to lose quality, whereas other foods like those you've mentioned will have a use-by date instead. Should have probably clarified but I've changed the title now

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Jamie89

Best before is really just foods that don't go off, but start to lose quality, whereas other foods like those you've mentioned will have a use-by date instead. Should have probably clarified but I've changed the title now

ah right, in that case yeah I probably would unless it looked or smelled bad

[bots]

Where products have a best before date, they are generally not an item that will go off in the short term. The best before merely indicates that it could degrade in quality after that date. So no one should really be put off from buying it.

Jamie beat me to it

[Crimson Dynamo]

best before my arse

but i would pay attention to "use by"

[Alf]

How did you let the food get out of date? Have you won the bloody lottery or something?

[Crimson Dynamo]

[Denver]

Originally Posted by Sir Alfred

How did you let the food get out of date? Have you won the bloody lottery or something?

[LukeB]

Throw it away immediately

[Alf]

Originally Posted by QueenOfSheba

King of the armchair.

[Calderyon]

Depends.

Usually check them before throwing it away. If it doesn´t smell funky, it gets a first class ticket to my stomach.

[Nicky91]

depends, if there is mold on it i throw it away

[caprimint]

Always eat it if it looks/smells okay

[RileyH]

ew no throw it away that's disgusting

[Wizard.]

Crisps and chocolate is okay anything else no well I can eat bread a couple of days after.

[Josy]

I'm quite fussy/paranoid really and mostly throw it away.

We throw a lot of bread to the birds like almost full loaves at a time because once its been opened for a day I think it loses its freshness

[caprimint]

Originally Posted by Josy

I'm quite fussy/paranoid really and mostly throw it away.

We throw a lot of bread to the birds like almost full loaves at a time because once its been opened for a day I think it loses its freshness

Such a waste

If you wanna keep it fresh, maybe freeze it and just take out as much as you want at a time?

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Josy

I'm quite fussy/paranoid really and mostly throw it away.

We throw a lot of bread to the birds like almost full loaves at a time because once its been opened for a day I think it loses its freshness

Very wasteful, you can toast it, make bread and butter pudding, whiz it down for breadcrumbs to make meatballs or stuffing, use it for crumble topping and still give some to the birds, too much and you just encourage rats

[Denver]

Originally Posted by Josy

I'm quite fussy/paranoid really and mostly throw it away.

We throw a lot of bread to the birds like almost full loaves at a time because once its been opened for a day I think it loses its freshness

Bread kills birds

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by QueenOfSheba

Bread kills birds

Josy a bird killer and rat breeder

[reece(:]

Inspect it before deciding

[Eddie.]

I throw them out due to past experiences of food poisoning. It happens rarely though, I try and finish up all my food before the expiry date...

[y.winter]

I don't eat a lot of packaged food and plant based food tend to be far more forgiving in this area (long shelf life and it's overall quite easy to see/smell if it's no good).
I'd be checking if it looks suspicious and then decide. I wouldn't throw it right away.