February 10, 2024

Should You Eat Out Of Date Food?

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There are lots of different schools of thought when it comes to eating out of date food. Some people like to keep to the dates on food very strictly, others prefer to take a more relaxed approach. Then there are those that will pretty much eat anything and pay zero attention to dates at all!

I think I probably eat more out-of-date food than the average person. Reducing food waste is something I am extremely passionate about and therefore I pay less mind to food dates than my friends and family do.

Should You Eat Out Of Date Food?

I used to work as a chef and of course, being in a professional environment meant that we had to stick very strictly to use by and best-before dates on food.

The amount of food I saw wasted at work meant I became more inclined to reduce my food waste at home as much as possible.

Of course, we always did everything we could to make sure food waste was limited in our pub kitchen, but there was only so much that could be done.

If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant you’ll be well aware of how much food comes back on people’s plates and has to be thrown in the bin!

I believe people throwing away perfectly edible food because of best before and use by dates is one of the biggest causes of food waste in the U.K. and that it’s something more people need to look at.

I once saw a news article where they interviewed a man who threw food away two days before the expiry date! It really stuck with me and I was so shocked to learn some people do this.

Use By vs Best Before

Best before – this is the date the food will be in the best condition. It should be fine to eat after this date but might not be at its peak. Usually applies to tins, dried food, crisps, jars, biscuits etc. Provided the packaging is intact it should be safe to eat. Dates are also used to help shop staff rotate food.

I think this date could be increased on some foods or abolished completely on others. This is an idea Tesco has been getting on board with – in 2018 they removed best before dates from 70 fruit and vegetable products to help prevent food waste.

Use By – this is the date food should be eaten and any food past this date should be thrown away. This applies to fresh meat and fish, ready-to-eat food such as ready meals, prepared salads and sandwiches Eating food after this date could make you unwell.

However, there are a few things to bear in mind. Firstly some foods are more likely to make you unwell than others. Soft fruits, raw chicken and mixed greens are the most likely to contain harmful bacteria. Preserves, hard cheeses and cured meats are very unlikely to make you unwell.

There is also the ‘one minute after minute midnight’ theory to consider. Going by the use-by date, food that is fine to eat at 11.59 pm should be thrown away at 12.01 am.

How poisonous can food become in the space of two minutes? It’s an interesting point to consider.

Why We Should Ignore Some Food Dates

Food dates are there to provide an industry-standard across production.

This means that, for example, during production factories all have to use the same set of dates to calculate how long each type of food will last.

I can see why this is useful and necessary. It does also mean a lot of food ends up in the bin.

There is also your local butcher and greengrocer to think about.

When we buy fresh meat or vegetables from these places they don’t have a use-by date – we are trusted to judge for ourselves how long the food is safe to eat.

If we’re talking about best before then I do believe this date can be ignored.

Spices may not be quite as potent, a tinned soup may not be quite as tasty but they are fine to eat. There are places such as Approved Food that base their entire business model on selling out-of-date foods.

Eggs are often thrown away due to their dates – but there is a way to test if they are fresh which means you can ignore the date printed on them – see this post for details.

Should You Eat Out Of Date Food?

Should you eat out-of-date food is a tough question to answer.

It is something I do on a very regular basis but I would never encourage others to do something they are uncomfortable with.

Here are a few last things to consider before deciding whether you should eat out-of-date food, in particular, food that is past its use-by date.

Are you considered vulnerable? If you are elderly, pregnant, recovering from surgery or have a serious health condition, I would say avoid eating out-of-date food just to be on the safe side
Do you trust your judgment? I always say ‘If in doubt – throw it out!’
If food is just a few hours out of date, it’s very unlikely it will make you ill.