It's Usually Safe to Eat Food Past the Expiration Date—Here's How to Know When It's Ok (2024)

FAQs

It's Usually Safe to Eat Food Past the Expiration Date—Here's How to Know When It's Ok? ›

Generally speaking, yes, it is safe to buy food on its expiration date. Expiration dates have more to do with the food's overall quality and texture instead of when it is safe or not safe to eat. As long as there are no signs of spoilage, you can eat it, but it might not taste as fresh as it once was.

Sell-By Date: Refers to the last day a retailer can display a product for sale; typically a food is safe to eat for 10 days after the Sell-by Date if refrigerated properly. Use-By Date: Refers to the last day a product will maintain its optimum freshness, flavor, and texture.

In an effort to reduce food waste, it is important that consumers understand that the dates applied to food are for quality and not for safety. Food products are safe to consume past the date on the label, and regardless of the date, consumers should evaluate the quality of the food product prior to its consumption.

Safety after date expires

"Use-by" dates usually refer to best quality and are not safety dates. But even if the date expires during home storage, a product should be safe, wholesome and of good quality if handled properly and kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

Expiry dates are not arbitrary; they are determined through rigorous scientific testing. Consuming expired foods can lead to food poisoning and other health complications. Foodborne illnesses caused by expired foods can have severe consequences, especially for vulnerable populations.

"Those expiration dates are on some egg cartons to make sure that retailers don't keep eggs on shelves past a certain date," Maloberti says. "However, eggs can be safely eaten two to three weeks past that date. Depending on where [you live], the expiration date may be labeled as Sell By, Use By, Exp. By or Best By."

Dry potatoes, flavored rice or pasta Use for up to 6 months past the date marked on the package. Cereals, crackers, chips, rice, and pasta Use for up to 2 years past the date marked on the package. Juice (cans, plastic containers, juice boxes) Use for up to 6 months past the date marked on the package.

While it's important to be wary of expiry dates on foods like meat, fish, and dairy, other pantry staples have a much longer shelf life. From condiments to baking ingredients, there are plenty of products you can safely consume past the “best by” or “use by” date printed on the package.

How are expiration dates established? FDA regulations require drug applicants to provide stability testing data with a proposed expiration date and storage conditions when they submit an application for FDA approval of their drug.

Unopened Cheddar cheese can last for several months to even a year or more past its 'best by' date when stored in the fridge.

How long does it take for expired food to make you sick? ›

The time it takes food poisoning symptoms to start can vary. Illness often starts in about 1 to 3 days. But symptoms can start any time from 30 minutes to 3 weeks after eating contaminated food. The length of time depends on the type of bacteria or virus causing the illness.

Water is a natural substance and does not go bad, however the plastic water bottle will degrade over time and begin to leach chemicals into the water, which is why it is always important to choose BPA free bottled water. ✅ How long can you keep bottled water?

Milk can often be consumed after its expiration date, generally for up to three days for opened milk and up to seven days for unopened milk. Before consuming, it's best to look for signs of spoilage. You can tell if milk is bad by checking the smell, color, consistency and taste.

Yes, you can usually eat something a couple days after it has expired and has been in the fridge. If it doesn't smell bad, or look funny then it's ok. Before the “best before” marking people used their senses to determine if food stuff was ok or not.

Most candies do have expiration dates, but like most foods, these dates serve more as guidelines for when to consume them. It's generally fine to eat candy past its expiration date, though the quality and texture does decline after a certain point.

Answer. Dates should be kept in an air-tight container and can be stored at room temperature or refrigerated up to 6 months, and frozen for up to 1 year. If purchasing dates in bulk meets your personal needs, you may opt to refrigerate or freeze any excess dates.

Dry pasta: Dry pasta won't ever really expire, but it will lose quality over time. Unopened dry pasta is good in the pantry for two years from the time of purchase, while opened dry pasta is good for about one year.