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Would you out of date tin?

(101 Posts)
Caleo Thu 28-Jul-22 21:14:56

I have looked through my store and thrown out tins of use by date 2021 and earlier. Was I too fussy?

Shelflife Thu 28-Jul-22 21:17:12

Personal choice , but I would definitely not have thrown them out . Tinned stuff lasts for ages.

NotSpaghetti Thu 28-Jul-22 21:20:26

I wouldn't have binned them unless they were damaged.

Elizabeth27 Thu 28-Jul-22 21:21:30

If you were going to worry about eating it then it was ok for you to do, it wouldn’t have bothered me so I would have used it.

Ali23 Thu 28-Jul-22 21:43:35

Sthings do last for ages in tins, which is why I would have thrown it out... it must have been very very old, if that makes sense.

Calendargirl Thu 28-Jul-22 21:49:00

Yes.

Shinamae Thu 28-Jul-22 21:58:15

I would’ve binned it

Nannagarra Thu 28-Jul-22 22:18:53

No, I wouldn’t have thrown them out.

Deedaa Thu 28-Jul-22 22:20:30

Dates on tins are usually Best Before and they will last a lot longer.

nadateturbe Thu 28-Jul-22 22:22:03

I would have binned them too Caleo.
But GNetters have told me I'm too fussy in past threads.
I don't feel comfortable eating out of date.

Baggytrazzas Thu 28-Jul-22 22:28:04

I would have started by using them, opening them, checking whether they looked, smelled and tasted ok then eaten them if I was happy up to that point. If I was at all dubious I'd have binned them. But not before opening them first to see.

However, that's me - if anyone else feels nervous about that then best to just bin them.

SpringyChicken Thu 28-Jul-22 23:27:18

Definitely would have opened them and used them. Tinned food will keep for years. Apparently tinned sardines actually improve with keeping.

mumofmadboys Thu 28-Jul-22 23:38:22

I would have used them

growstuff Thu 28-Jul-22 23:46:27

I would have opened the tins and probably have eaten the contents.

Teacheranne Thu 28-Jul-22 23:46:52

I have to admit I don’t even look at use by dates on tins, or on many other products either.

timetogo2016 Thu 28-Jul-22 23:54:25

Same here Teacheranne.
By the time i manage to read the sell by date it will be out of date anyway, as the print is soooo small.
As the advert says " just eat ".

BlueBelle Fri 29-Jul-22 03:05:19

I don’t look at dates either…. I would not have thrown them out I would have used then
A big waste of food and money

Shelflife Fri 29-Jul-22 06:28:37

Well said BlueBelle!

Juliet27 Fri 29-Jul-22 06:32:06

I did open an old tin of pears but the juice had congealed and gone slimy.

Esspee Fri 29-Jul-22 06:38:10

My rule is that if it looks, smells and ultimately tastes OK it is food and wasting food is completely unacceptable when so many people in this world go without.

M0nica Fri 29-Jul-22 07:37:03

Tinned food decades past its sell-by date has been safely opened and eaten. Tinned food is safe until the tin rusts through.

Food found in stores taken to the Antartic by Scott have been safely opened and eaten 100 years after he stashed it, www.thetimes.co.uk/article/captain-scott-s-fruit-cake-found-almost-edible-106-years-after-antarctic-expedition-kd67njdn0. This link is behind a pay wall, but enough is available.

Tinned food has a 'best before dates', not use by dates.

After an elderly relation died, I lived on her stash of tinned food, some decades old, while doing the house clearance.

Some tinned soup went in the bin because it tasted stale, but nothing was unsafe.

I would throw away bulging tins and those with any rust or damage on the inside, but, that apart. I have eaten tinned and packaged dry food, years beyond its sell by date, without any side effects. But, apart from things like ceral and biscuits tasting very stale 5 years after its sell by date, I have never suffered any health effects.

I cannot bear to throw any food away, least of all because it has passed a nominal sell by date.

Allsorts Fri 29-Jul-22 07:39:13

I would have opened them,if contents looked and smelt all right i would have used them.

Oopsadaisy1 Fri 29-Jul-22 08:18:42

Back in the day I would have kept them, after opening a can of condensed milk recently (can was fine and undamaged/undented) and finding it in one horrid smelly lump, I now open the can and have a look, but only if I have something else in the house to take it’s place if it’s off.

They don’t make cans like they used to!

TerriBull Fri 29-Jul-22 08:21:24

I've eaten out of date beans, I'm still here! but yes I would discard bulging or rusting tins and others have said taste and smell are the ultimate indicators. Also have used out of date, flour and baking powder, I think like many, we over bought during the pandemic when initially there was a shortage of some items and then they became available again. I really hate wasting food it seems just wrong, so I'm pretty careful with perishables making sure they are eaten but sell by dates and long shelf stuff, well I tend to think those dates, whist a guide don't have to be adhered to that strictly.

Think I read somewhere that an ancient tin of something or other was opened after maybe a hundred years and still deemed edible, but that would take a brave person, I wouldn't want to be part of such an experiment!

tocojib842 Fri 29-Jul-22 08:22:13

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