Expiration dates?

robinseggs · Post by **robinseggs** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:37 am

Just a thought....are there foods that don't spoil????

Was eating at in-laws last week (they are old and don't throw anything away) and they put honey on the table....Well first it was so dark it looked like molasses...and also it was almost solidified at bottom. The label looked like something out of the 70's and so I wondered if even safe to eat?????

Because of their history of saving everything and them knowing how I feel about expired products, i felt the need to say out loud ..."You've gotta be kidding me!" And I don't think anybody heard me (big huge Italian family all talking at once), but told my son not to eat it. So does anybody know, does honey spoil???

What about olives? Pickes? ketchup?????

Once at their house I had a cough and my FIL brought me cough syrup that had expired 20 yrs ago!! I am not kidding. Then they ridiculed me because I refused to take it!!!! They're nuts!

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:42 am

Just Googled this........

Can Honey spoil?

One reason honey is called a "miracle food" is because in its natural form it is fully preserved. No organisms can live in it and the product will not decompose. However, if the moisture content is raised above 20%, yeasts can begin to grow and cause fermentation. Honey can also change texture over time, and separate out into solids (glucose) and liquids (fructose and moisture). Stirring the product will mix up the components and return it to its former granulated state.

valerie · Post by **valerie** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:46 am

Well you can get by with it on some things but I definately wouldn't try

it with honey or 20 year old cough syrup!

Cleaning out the cupboards at my parents' house last spring I came

across a jar of mint jelly that I know for a fact has been there for at

least 40 years. It has never been opened. I brought it home as a

collectible, but it will never be opened.

Older people, I think especially anyone who went through the depression

years, hang on to stuff they shouldn't, but it's almost impossible to

convince them of that!

Stuff like olives, pickles, ketchup, they can probably be safely used

beyond their expiration date but they do lose in flavor and nutritional

value.

Anything that doesn't have a UPC code on it is old and I wouldn't use,

either.

Of course, BUTTER should be used in a timely fashion, or it

will get rancid.

;)

robinseggs · Post by **robinseggs** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:44 am

Thanks. I am ultra careful about eating things in fridge. My husband laughs at me because I have a rule: if it is leftover carryout, then I throw away after 1-2 days. If something I cooked, I keep no longer than 2-3 days. THIS MEANS EVERYTHING!!! My husband will eat leftover wings and other atrocities after 4-6 days and then wonders why he gets stomache upset. Just plain gross.

Jives · Post by **Jives** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:50 am

Although the life of canned goods is posted at 25 years, they can actually be eaten up to a century later as long as the can has not developed any rust holes. After this amount of time, however, much of the vitamins will have oxidized and the food will be semi-tasteless.

I once ate a can of beans I found in an abandonded cabin while on survival training. They had to be at least 50 years old but they tasted great with the rattlesnake bacon strips and the prickly pear catcus slices.

robinseggs · Post by **robinseggs** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:52 am

omg! are you seeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrious?????????????????????????? LOL

Jives · Post by **Jives** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:57 am

lol. Try going without food for 5 days, rattlesnake will look pretty good at that time! Besides, it tastes like chicken.:wah:

minks · Post by **minks** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 1:24 pm

Spam

Surely Spam was dug up from some archeological sight, found to be dated BC taken to the nearest lab, and found to be edible. They then reverse engineered it and presto it still sells today.

NOTE: anyone doing a time capsule throw in a tin of spam. Hey if your on survival training you know you got spam

http://www.nhb.org/download/factsht/shelf.pdf

there is where I found honey info.

jennyswan · Post by **jennyswan** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 2:18 pm

Hi All

I trained in hotel management in Germany (hated every minute of it) but to cut a long story short I would recommend:

Not to use anything that has passed it's best before date.

The thing to avoid like poison is apparently anything in a tin that has a dent in it. These cans may contain some virus (can't remember the name) which can kill you in under a day and spread like wild fire.

OpenMind · Post by **OpenMind** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 2:54 pm

There is now a new activity in the UK. A lot of food that has passed its date is thrown out whether it is rotten or still in good form. Groups of people have taken to ransacking the rubbish thrown out by restaurants and domestic rubbish for decent pickings. This is not only for their own use, several groups do this for charity also.

The truth is, the dates given on food packages are there primarily to protect the producers and retailers rather than the consumers. It is possible for food to go off before the given date as well as some time after it.

In the past, before we had the luxury of sell by dates and the extra luxury of being able to afford to throw food away, we had to use our senses and knowledge of food to determine whether it was safe to eat or not.

Food poisoning was more common in those days, but this was more due to carelessness (and possibly due to the need to eat anything available). Today, however, people don't seem to have the ability to determine whether food is safe or not just by using their senses. This is a great shame and tonnes of good food is wasted every day simply because of a legal requirement. But, without using our senses, we still take the risk of suffering food poisoning from foodstuffs that go off before the use or sell by dates.

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 2:57 pm

jennyswan wrote: Hi All

I trained in hotel management in Germany (hated every minute of it) but to cut a long story short I would recommend:

Not to use anything that has passed it's best before date.

The thing to avoid like poison is apparently anything in a tin that has a dent in it. These cans may contain some virus (can't remember the name) which can kill you in under a day and spread like wild fire.Botulism.

OpenMind · Post by **OpenMind** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 3:02 pm

The thing to avoid like poison is apparently anything in a tin that has a dent in it.

This is and always has been good advice. The interior of the dented metal can possibly turn rusty. This has an adverse reaction on the tin's contents. So, always stay clear of dented cans. You will often find them in supermarkets on 'reduced to clear' shelves. I'm not entirely certain, I believe the sale of dented tins is illegal. Perhaps someone here can clarify that.

nvalleyvee · Post by **nvalleyvee** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 3:05 pm

I make BTS smell everything first and even then there are times I won't eat it. I do look at expiration labels and figure you can add 2-4 weeks on top of that - unless it smells or looks bad. I do a lot of refrigerator and cupboard cleaning when he isn't home........:wah:

jennyswan · Post by **jennyswan** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 3:06 pm

Botulism

Thanks Abbey that's the one!!

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 4:17 pm

I think my expiration date has expired, its behind my knee and I cant see it.

valerie · Post by **valerie** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:21 pm

SnoozeControl wrote: Has anyone mentioned Twinkies?

Twinkies are unbelievable, I used to work in a place where for a joke

guys had left Twinkies sitting on a shelf, years and years later you

could poke your finger into them and they were STILL soft!!

:p

nvalleyvee · Post by **nvalleyvee** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:34 pm

SnoozeControl wrote: Twinkies are a guilty pleasure of mine... I probably don't have them more than once a year, if that. I'm afraid I wouldn't need embalming if I ate them more often.

I think you'd be right........:wah: I only eat them when no one is looking..........

jpcme · Post by **jpcme** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 9:00 am

Christmas pudding. My mum brought a job lot YEARS ago and brings one out every year. I think we are still good for another 10 years at least.

The Red One · Post by **The Red One** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:27 am

That reminds me.....I need to clean out my cabinets and closet for expired foods, don't want the kids to get ahold of anything bad.....

robinseggs · Post by **robinseggs** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:00 pm

This is GROSS...........the MIL just called to say she is starting her sauce for the pasta (on Xmas Eve) tomorrow!!!!!!!! Christmas is 10 days away! I had to say something. She got defensive and said, "Don't worry I won't poison you"....lol

I said I hope there's no meat in it, (knowing there is)........and now she is pissed off.