Is food safe to eat after the expiration date?
It depends.
There are a couple of things you can do to see if your food is safe to eat if the expiration date has passed.
Is food still good after the ‘best by’ date?
It depends, but the answer isn’t always no. Deseret News previously reported on whether or not food is still good after the “best by” date.
- According to The Associated Press, some believe that consumers will throw out perfectly edible food after this date. Patty Apple, manager at Food Shift, said, “(Consumers) read these dates and then they assume that it’s bad, they can’t eat it and they toss it, when these dates don’t actually mean that they’re not edible or they’re not still nutritious or tasty.”
- Bloomberg reported that tossing out the best by date and having consumers rely on their own judgment will result in less food waste, because some food can still be eaten after the “best before” date.
- Richard Lipsit, owner of a discount grocery store, spoke to Fox affiliate WXIX and said that plenty of food can be eaten past its stated expiration date — including milk, which he says can be consumed up to a week after the labeled date.
- Delish explained that the “best before” or “best by” date informs the consumer of when the food hits peak freshness, but does not mean that it cannot be eaten afterwards.
- Another way to test whether or not a food is safe to eat is to smell it. If the food smells neutral or like it ordinarily smells, then it might be safe to consume, but if it smells rancid, it might not be safe to consume. According to WebMD, it’s not safe to eat food that has a bad smell. Smell and look are two tools that you can use to see if food is expired.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Most shelf-stable foods are safe indefinitely. In fact, canned goods will last for years, as long as the can itself is in good condition (no rust, dents, or swelling).”
It continued, “Packaged foods (cereal, pasta, cookies) will be safe past the ‘best by’ date, although they may eventually become stale or develop an off flavor. You’ll know when you open the package if the food has lost quality. Many dates on foods refer to quality, not safety.”
Tips for storing food
Storing food in airtight containers can be helpful for maintaining freshness.
If you freeze your food when it’s still good, then you will be able to preserve its freshness and eat it later on.
WebMD also gave some tips for storing food:
- Milk stays good for a week and is best at the back of the fridge.
- Eggs last three to five weeks. Eggs will also last better in the back of the fridge.
- Use ground meat and poultry within one or two days, and freeze it if you can’t use it by then.