I always have a couple of cartons of long life milk in pantry. ran out of fresh milk the other day,(thurs) so grabbed the carton and we have used 1/2 of it. friend came around, made a coffee, and opened the fridge, said which milk will i use (got fresh today)....and I said either will do....... OMG....she said well the carton has best before 24 Feb 2011... I didnt know what to think. hubby and i have drunk it with coffee, made scallopes spuds last night,\..... We are both fine, but IF I GET SICK,,,,,i will surely be back on here to let you know. Just goes to show, with all this talk lately of use by and best before, that some things are fine. | If I had noticed the date, i certainly would have biffed it.
dec1066,
Apr 23, 1:37am
Its a best before date. It would have smelt bad if it was off. Yes it does go to show you how you should check things like dairy products and not just biff them. Cut meats like ham however, are different - you cant tell if they are breeding huge amounts of bacteria or not.
Edited to add that it would have curlded in your coffee if it was off
nfh1,
Apr 23, 3:16am
I have just been reading that the Best Before Dates are to be removed in the UK as they think they are contributing to the amount of food being throw away.Food will just have a Use By Date.
I hope you are still feeling well korbo.
korbo,
Apr 23, 3:36am
yep still ok, and hubby has been out hunting all day. he is fine too. I have biffed it tho.
nfh1,
Apr 23, 3:43am
I know, I would too.I think it is because I think I may be ill it makes me feel ill!Makes no sense really!
pink-dragon,
Apr 23, 3:46am
I went to make toffee sauce the other day but had forgotten to buy cream.Found a pack of long life cream in the pantry 6 months past it's best before.worked fine with no ill effects.....
alebix,
Apr 23, 4:59am
To be honest, alot of the time its mind over matter. If it doesnt smell or look bad, most of the time its ok.. I mean this with certain items not everything.
dezzie,
Apr 23, 3:01pm
best before doesn't mean "turns to poision after", I've never really worried about dates on packets and bottles to be honest, but I'm old and was cooking for my family way before these things came in and we all survived ok, no one got food poisioning, the wastage of food because of these dates is appalling really..last year sometime someone in farming had somehow got onto about 2.5 ton of moro bars that were close to their date, and they were thinking of buying them for stockfeed, it was shocking to me, not that I needed them, it would be interesting to know just how much food wastage there is though, even cans of coke etc have a date on them now, tins of fruit etc, when back in the day there would be a jar of mums home preserved stuff sitting in the back of the pantry for god knows how many years, and eatten with no ill effects.
lythande1,
Apr 23, 3:05pm
THINK. best Before. Not USE BY. It means it's in it's best condition before, but still perfectly fine after, deteriorating slowly as time goes on like every does.
So if I stuck a sticker on your carrots saying Best before (2 days time) would you throw them all out?? As you say, the milks fine.
rainrain1,
Apr 23, 4:32pm
We never ever go by use by date on milk, it keeps quite a while in the country, it's got to :-)Smell it korbo, that's what noses are for
pickles7,
Apr 23, 4:47pm
best before ............is saying you can use it after, the best before date, just that the product may not be as nice.
use before .........is saying the product should be used before, the use before, date
I wonder if they intend to lengthen the dates, to the very longest date, before the products are unsafe to use, after the....use by date. Where did you read about this ?.......korbo..... I had a Sister that would not use eggs one day after the date stamped on the pkt, not even for baking.
didorothy,
Apr 23, 6:32pm
Having had to make a lot go a long way when my children were small, I hate wasting anything!If I have sour milk it is great for scones!! Never been sick because if it! In some counties they culture milk as I now do with my Kefir grains to get apro bioticdrink. Good for you.
pickles7,
Apr 23, 6:45pm
Where did you get your, Kefir grains from ?....didorothy....
macandrosie,
Apr 23, 7:45pm
I agree with you didorothy! There's very little food that will give you food poisoning if it's off. Mainly chicken & fish. Our human guts are remarkably tolerable & a little sour milk is great in scones! Not so different from yoghurt really, I have bought many 'used by' products over the years, & have never suffered from ill effects.
emmapear,
Apr 23, 8:30pm
I knew someone who worked on a pigfarm and the pigs were fed a lot of food that was past best before dates...stuff like choc chips, condensed milk, cereal etc...
gtcrshr,
Apr 24, 12:17am
OH MY GOD YOUR GOING TO DIE YOU HAVE DRUNK MILK AFTER A BEST BEFORE DATE OH GO SEE A DOCTOR STRAIGHT AWAY O M G !
nfh1,
Apr 24, 1:41am
Link for you pickles, does not sound as though NZ will follow suit though.
No worries.Best to check the 'use by date' rather than the best before.Just fine :-)
duckmoon,
Apr 24, 4:25am
1. "best before" does not mean "poisonious afterwards" 2. I don't put my own judgement on hold... two questions a. how long was the best before date... some things have a shelf life of many months - so if it is a couple of weeks over a 12 month shelf life... or a couple of days over a one week shelf life... THEN b. I use my nose and eyes - does it smell like it should... etc
macandrosie,
Apr 24, 10:54pm
Exactly "duckmoon"I think under the consumer act or something that producers will be required by law to put on a "use by" date on all their products.
pickles7,
Apr 24, 11:37pm
thanks for that. It is a shame that so many people are throwing away perfectly good food. I once would have said, so what, "its there money" not now. Food is precious. not just cost wise... I think there needs to be more awareness, maybe remove the "use by date" that, is a statement!!! and educate people to use there commonsense, on the "best before date" as being, a judgement. gee, we kept whole steak's, six weeks in advance, had to wash some in vinegar, no one ever got sick.... I look back now and wonder if they have a guard on the cool-room door these days.
laser51,
Apr 25, 9:19pm
even if the milk was off it won't kill you or make you ill, after all how is yoghurt made?? Think about it. Many people are so worried about food now it is ridiculous, I know people who won't eat an apple peach or whatever just picked from the tree in case it has germs or bugs on it fgs.
nfh1,
Apr 25, 10:30pm
We all have different things which we will/will not do - I would never eat anything after the BB date.There is a thread in Health where some people are horrified about posters popping dog bowls into the dishwasher with 'people' dishes - I have no problem with that.
We are all different and that is what makes life so interesting.
I am amazed there are any bugs on the fruit on most trees, the amount of times they are sprayed.That is the reason I rinse fruit.
beaker59,
Apr 25, 11:09pm
Bugs on fruit tells me it is safe to eat :)
Long life milk is great it means I can always give my guests on the boat milk with tea and coffee it lives in a locker and I get the 250ml cartons. Don't drink it myself there just seems something not quite right about milk that doesn't goes off.
nfh1,
Apr 25, 11:15pm
I buy apples from an organic orchard down the road, the are lovely, irregular shapes, nothing like the tasteless, uniform supermarket ones.
I do not drink milk so cannot tell if it is off or not as it all smells bad to me,You are right the LL stuff is handy to have for other people!
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