Have you ever consumed an expired product?
By chiyochan
@chiyosan (30184)
Philippines
January 6, 2013 5:30am CST
I was in a meeting with the same people I have a project with for the past 3 months, and suddenly she was like laughing out load and was telling me that she accidentally ate all of the bread/pastry and noticed that it was expired like 5 days ago!
She was also in and out of her office, unable to find time to buy a decent lunch so she was like so hungry and found a pack of the pastry in her desk cabinet. so she ate in in our meeting, she said it tastes the same and was not soiled in smell or anything to identify it was not good already. But then she was checking out the packaging and found the best before notification... Oh well. she's had it already. We just suggested her to drink a coke. (I don't know why that is but that's what was told to her. hehe)
Have you ever forgotten to check out the expiry date and aaccidentally ate any food? Or used them in cooking, etc? I sure hope it wasn't so bad and did not cause any bad tummy, or worst, food poisoning. Thanks!
3 people like this
32 responses
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
6 Jan 13
I have no problem eating out of date foods. If it looks ok and smells ok I will eat it. I have eaten foods several years past the date it supposedly is able to be consumed. I live alone and some things simply cannot be consumed within the time given. Something that is used just a little but comes in a large sized container is impossible to use within the time.
I'm still alive and still healthy. I think that use by dates and so on are to make us replace products and most of the time there is nothing wrong with the stuff.
@IntrovertShy (2780)
• Marikina, Philippines
7 Jan 13
Oh really? Maybe the food she ate was not not yet ready to expired and the notification she saw on a package might be mistaken. I don't know. If it expires, it usually tastes bad and the smell is aweful. Maybe the written date was mistaken for the first time.
1 person likes this
@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
or probably that there was indeed an extension to the said expiration date. my friend said she has not noticed anything bad or foul smell to it, that is why she ate it, all of it and did not know it was expired until she had the time to check for the wrapper.
@timetravel (1425)
• United States
6 Jan 13
Often the "sell by" date is just that - the last date it's recommended a product be sold, so it can be consumed in a period not too long after that.
Eggs - the sell by date stamped on a carton - eggs are still good for a couple of weeks after that date. It is basically the last recommended date to sell a product.
Now, if a product is stamped "best by such and such date" - it means just that - it is best if used by that date.
Any food that can spoil, such as fresh milk, yogurt, or some cheeses, should be used by the stamped date - or within a day or two after the date. today, there are milks, such as lactose free milks, that stay good for two months or more.
Almost anything can be frozen for a certain amount of time and then consumed past the sell by date - such as meats.
with canned goods, the danger is in botulism. Always make sure that canned goods past the expiration or sell by date aren't bent or damaged - the can that is - somehow. If it is, toss it.
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@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
hi time travel, thanks for sharing. I think some does or can be consumed days after the expiry date, it is a mere suggestion when to take it, maybe me and my family was just used to not extending food as much. My brothers and i was just used to not having too much food around and keeping them to spoil in the fridge. =)
@timetravel (1425)
• United States
6 Jan 13
I wanted to add - for those who have pets, don't forget to check their food, too, before buying. There are sell by dates stamped on pet foods, too.
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@vidhyaprakash_2 (7116)
• India
12 Jan 13
Hi friend, i never take this kind of expired food, it is not good for our health, surely it will give some unwanted side effects. Sad to hear about your friend's activity. Hope she don't get any issue with it. Drinking coke is not a good thing and it will give some other unwanted health problems, since coke drinks contains a lot of unwanted chemicals.
1 person likes this
@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
12 Jan 13
hi vidhya, that's true there is always that danger when you consume expired products, of course when it says it is not good to be taken after a period of time, i think it is better to be safe than sorry for trying to believe that the product is as good as it should be.
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
11 Jan 13
one time when we were kids, my parents bought siopao but it was off so nobody touched them. my brother ate them and didn't notice anything so i always teased him about it.
i have a sister who always sends "expired" stuff. she bought them but forgot to use them. but when we open them some are still good. it's the same way with medicine. they will still work. but if there is a tear in the packaging and it's discolored, of course it's better not to take them.
my friend, though, had a strange reaction to peanut brittle. there was one in their office pantry that's been there for a while. when she ate it, she had a violent reaction that they rushed her to the hospital. she never had any negative reaction from peanuts before. her officemates said she looked scary.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
7 Jan 13
I have, most canned goods are still good for over a year. I would just be careful when opening.
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@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
hi rob, i did not know that canned goods would last even up to a year of them being expired, i think though that wee should still be careful not to be mislead by this thought alone and make sure that the food is really still okay for consumption(aka no foul smell, no molds, or anything to show that it isn't good to be eaten).
@bingskee (5234)
• Philippines
7 Jan 13
i might have unknowingly.
sometimes, in one's hunger, the instinct was to eat what is available. i might have eaten bread that was expired, or viand that was in the ref for days, who knows. it's good that these instances did not result to anything bad.
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@SIMPLYD (90722)
• Philippines
7 Jan 13
The product said it's best before. So i suppose it means we can consume it days after that, chiyosan.
Well, as long as when you smell it it doesn't smell bad and when you bite it, it's still good , i think you can still eat it.
Maybe it would be best if you let her take a medicine that can make her go to the CR to defecate! ![](/Content/images/emotes/lol.gif)
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@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
haha luckily we did not have to give her anything so she would have to spell out the food she mistakenly ate. i guess it did no wrong to her anyway and was normal. this incident just thought her a lesson to always check out the best before notice before taking in anything.
@skyandgrassplot (1497)
• China
7 Jan 13
Well,as for me,I will check the expiry date when I want to eat something,and for your friend's case,just a one time thing will not cause big problem,but she should change this habit definitely.
1 person likes this
@lsjapdoit (651)
• Indonesia
7 Jan 13
Dry food usually lasts longer than its expiry date. If it is not stale then it is still edible. I have eaten expired biscuits at times and no problem :)
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@sunshinesophie (794)
• China
7 Jan 13
Nowdays,the problem of food safety is more and more serious in China. We have to pay more attention to the date of its validity.One time when my friend also was in the same situation as your friend's.But unluckily,she had the stomachache soon.She was sent to the hospital and thank godness,there was nothing serious with her finally.
I check about the expiry date when I buy something in the supermarkets or eat something which has been kept for some days.
Take care.Have a nice day.
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@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
hi sunshine, thank you very much for your response to the discussion. =) That is true, we can never always disregard and think that all expiry dates have allowance in them... it may be different for different companies as well. im sorry to hear about your friend who was hospitalized; im glad my friend did not suffer the same.
@mayrylflores (173)
• Philippines
7 Jan 13
Oh well, I always check the expiration date to avoid getting poison. Safety first. I don't like my tummy to get upset.
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@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
6 Jan 13
I have consumed food beyond the expiry date on many occasions. The dates are added to comply with legislation, which means that for many years we bought food products and the onus was on ourselves as to when to classify them as unfit to eat.
The dates are always very conservative and there is no problem eating food items beyond the specified time. I tend to treat the dates as a guideline rather than a definitive measure, and I allow a certain period afterwards depending on the product in question.
You will find a "best by" date on cheese, but there is very little that can go wrong with it. It may develop a hard rind or even mould, but it will not go off.
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@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
hi there asylum! =) thanks you much for your response to the topic. i am normally very conscious when it comes to such, really trying to see or look for the dates and would not even buy products close to expiry as i know we would not be eating them right away.
@sizzle3000 (3036)
• United States
6 Jan 13
We have some things that are expired. Like chocolate and random things that the expiration doesn't really matter. If it's milk or something that could give us food poisoning or make us sick I make it a point to throw it away. Some things won't make you sick so it doesn't matter. My parents drink sour milk and they haven't gotten sick from that yet. I find it disgusting yet if you think about it a few of the things we already eat are made from spoiled milk.
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@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
oh, right, my friend told me she makes her own yogurt from sour milk/spoiled milk and i was like no way would i be eating that, there were also some exotic rice meals here in some provinces called Buro where you let the rice spoil(with smell) and fry them up with many other ingredients and they love it, i just could not bring myself to eat such though... =) thank you sizzle for sharing.
@Neriz69 (1093)
• Philippines
6 Jan 13
Yes I have taken food that is expired not knowing of course. I did not get sick or anything, and just like your friend it did not taste or smelled bad that's why I thought it was still good. I searched the net on the effects of expired food and I found out that there is a grace period of a t least a few months before it really turns bad. But for your own good don't eat expired food, just to be safe always look at the label.
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@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
hi there neriz, thank you for sharing, well, yes that is true, there was no hint both the smell or the taste of the food that could say it was spolied so she ate the whole pack, only to realize it was already spoiled. I asked her recently and she did say nothing happened.
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
6 Jan 13
no not at all.if i see the expired or used up tagline or i feel its old ,i will just throw it away,First safety is needed or else we will end up using it more and getting so many complications
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@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
thanks natlie! :D indeed it should always be safety first, though most have said there aren't problems with the consumption of expired products, i think we should just still stick with the company suggestion, and should just buy whatever we can consume on the given time.
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
6 Jan 13
Many times, I have done that. Like soups and veggies in a can. Even though they had a date they were not bad.
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@keltician (8)
• France
6 Jan 13
There's a difference between 'best before' 'sell by' and 'consume by' dates. The best before is advisory and eating it after that date shouldn't do you any harm unless the product is clearly 'off'. 'Sell by' is more for the store's guidance. The 'consume by' is the one to be most wary of. If you're tempted to consume something after that date be very careful.
General rule is that if it smells bad it almost certainly is bad though there are exceptions - some cheeses smell prety awful from day 1.
Don't be tempted to eat food by scraping off traces of mould. If bread, for example, has a touch of mould in the corner, the spores from the mould growth will have permeated what looks like OK bread in the remainder, even though you can't see where the bacteria have taken hold.
I've often eaten food after the best before and sell by dates without any ill effects, but always after careful checking by sight and smell! If in doubt, throw it out!
@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
hi there keltician! =) i haven't really seen anything here in the country where there is a sell by markings, perhaps that is limited to the stores and they replace it with "best before" or "consume by" dates. =)
I would agree with that, if it does not look that good, and it smells awful... it better be not consumed.
With breads, we never just take out the molds, we would never really eat that already... we'd just throw it out.
thank you for sharing this and for your response to the discussion. ;)
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