The most important thing you need to know about food products is that they are actually labeled with expiration dates to give consumers information about the food’s freshness. In other words, most foods do not become unhealthy to eat when they’ve reached their sell-by dates, but they will start to lose quality in taste.
So, if it smells bad or looks rotten, DO NOT eat it. Use your common sense and never eat something you are unsure of. Fortunately, there are many foods that are safe to consume after their sell-by dates. Remember… Don’t waste food!
7 thoughts on “10 Foods You Can Still Eat Past the Expiration Date”
Good information.
Thank You
Thank you for answering the questions about how long past the expiration date something can safely be consumed. My husband has been in a nursing home almost a year and I have been eating out or with friends and not cooked much. Almost everything I have been pulling out of the cabinet lately expired before Christmas and I have thrown away many cans and packages. I am going to make a concerted effort to use up what I have before I buy any more. Thanks again.
As a retired food inspector with NYS, I assure you all that expiration dates are merely guidelines and not something etched in stone — NY State does not even issue violations for foods past their dates — the thinking is simple: if a food does not look or smell spoiled it likely is still safe to eat. That doesn’t mean it’s not stale or less than 100 % of its original quality. There are exceptions, of course — milk and poultry tend to spoil quickly — canned and sealed shelf-stable foods can last years — my suggestion is to take each product individually and form your own evaluations.
Thank you!!!
Thank you for the information. I knew about some facts and the others I was glad to find out about. Like the eggs.
When I buy sourdough bread Istore itin the freezer then when the bread box get’s down, to 3 slice I get anothe bag of frozen bread put down a dish towel an open the bag for it to thaw out the chldren would not eat the dounut holes if they were not frozen Dad
Thanks for these tips. They will be posted for family and friends, Tips are very appreciated and we are thankful for this notice.