Lived to tell the tale!

I think it is horses for course (so to speak). I am very careful about raw/cooked chicken and cooked rice, in particular. But other things, dairy products, other carbohydrates, I work on the sniff, touch, use my common sense basis.

Blue cheese gets its blueness from mould growing in the cheese, which is then eaten with relish by most people. Grapes affected by the 'noble rot' are considered to make a superior wine. The best beef and game is hung for three or even four weeks. Dry ageing of beef encourages a specific fungus to grow on the surface of the beef, that improves its flavour.

Given that each of us has about 2lbs of bacteria, fungi and other microbes live in our bodies, being over sensitive about sell by/use by dates, is rather like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted.

When I was the designated first aider at work the dressings had a use before date on the sterile packaged bandages. How ridiculous!

Lancslass1 I still love it. Scraped a tin last week when I made MaryBerry’s lemon meringue.

Oh dear, I ate cheese that I cut the mould off of at lunch time yesterday and I have been sick and ill all night. Didn't know what it was that made me ill until I came on here. I won't be doing that again!

I never take notice of dates on food when it comes to using the food. I use my common sense. I have had items of food which have gone off before their dates - am I supposed to eat those because the date indicates they are okay?!

When I went to a World Girl Guide Camp in Windsor Great Park in 1957, we were all given several tins of Fussell's condensed milk to take home.
They had been stockpiled during the Second WW.
In those days I loved it; very sweet-added to instant.coffee.
Wouldn't like it now though.

A while ago I read an article about the US Government being concerned about medicines being thrown away (think it was in the military) because of use by dates. They did some tests and some meds. were just as effective 10 years later. Not that I am saying anyone should use an out of date med. but just goes to show.

Yellowmellow, Do you cross roads as a pedestrian or travel by car. Those pursuits are as risky, if not more so than using an out of date stock cube to make soup.

I regularly eat yoghurt up to 2 weeks out of date with no ill effects but do draw the line if it's gone mouldy!

I look at the date but still do it, if it's within a few years. Still, I did read about a foreign couple, who drank drinking chocolate that was over forty years old and their illness made it onto the internet.

Willow500 - Have I finally discovered another person like me, with no sense of smell?!
I've never had one: can't even smell gas, but I have Always felt rather a freak as nobody else seems to have this problem.

Jocork , absolutely agree!

As I've firmly told DGC, Best Before does NOT mean Poisonous After. Like DM and DGM I use the sniff test.

OK I've had Hep A but that was from a crayfish sandwich in a naice art gallery café! And I can't get Hep A again.

Well danni the cheese is the only thing I ate which could explain how awful I have felt this weekend.
However the advice from legs55 makes perfect sense and I shall stick to that - remove mould and then use cheese in cooking.
Ps fit and healthy 18yr-old DGD suffered no ill effects!

Yes Direne3 it does. Had a nasty tummy upset which I could only put down to a pot of yogurt that had been open for too long so I now write the date I open things on the lid with marker pen.

If I find cheese has mould on it I still eat it after cutting the mould off! I am now doubting if this is ok?

My son once had a temporary job in Tesco, checking the delivery temperature of food and expiry dates - he's still a bit if a fanatic almost 20 years on. My mother died in 2010 and her larder was full of food, some priced in old pence) with no use by dates. I should add that she didn't die of food poisoning!
I agree with others that I go largely on smell. Fish and chicken in particular do smell when they are too old. But a lot of meat is vacuum packed and "29 day aged" etc and I certainly don't worry too much about dates on these. Its obvious if they've gone off, but many of them keep, and even improve sfter the best before date.

I have a fondness for cream cheese and usually buy 3 at a time. Waitrose Duchy Organic is particularly luscious in a cheesecake, anyway, I have often eaten it (and other brands) years past it's sell/use by dates. I think the longest time between buying and opening a pack, was 4 years. Once opened, it has the same longevity as a pack bought on the day of use.
Same with non-meat soups in cartons or plastic tubs but I would only use them a month or so past the end date.

“ Best before “dates are to aid stock control in supermarkets. Dry , tinned or packaged goods will last almost indefinitely, though colour may be affected, and flavour less strong.

I am concerned about fresh foods, and I usually respect
“ Use by “dates for meat, fish, anything made with cream etc. though Cheese is another matter. I just cut off any mould. Same with jam.
I have never had food poisoning from any food I have cooked or handled.

Why does honey have a date on it as it is the one food that does not go off. In fact honey, which is still edible, has been found in ancient tombs in Egypt.

During the heatwave, looking for something different to drink, I came across a bottle of Sangria in the garage fridge - dated best before Aug 2013. I drank it over several nights, with plenty of ice and topped up with lemonade. I am still here.

We just threw away a jar of instant coffee with a B.B. date of 2005 but only because it had gone lumpy.

I have to laugh at the fact that our children, who policed the fridge and the B.B. dates like demons, now couldn’t give tuppence for those same dates now they are buying their own food.

I only take notice of use by dates on meat, fish & blue cheese.
Any cheese which has started to grow mould MUST only be used cooked, I grate it & freeze for later use, the exception is blue cheese, I know it's got mould in it but if it actually goes mouldy it is full of extremely harmful bacteria.

Best before dates only indicate that after that date the food may deteriorate ie. lose colour/flavour. Too much food is wasted these days but there again most of us grew up before all these dates were put on food.

Look at it, smell it, taste it, if it's ok then eat it

I'd probably have eaten it as it would have been boiled and was only a stock cube. However I throw stuff out as soon as it's past it's sell by date as I can't smell if it's off or not.

Understandably there are varying views on the 'Best Before' subject but perhaps what should be concerning us more is the 'Once Opened Use Within' labelling. When it comes to sauces/cream cheese/mayonnaise etc. we rarely remember the exact date things were opened, especially if several of us are using. I'm considering keeping some sticky labels and a pen near the fridge. Does this worry anyone else?