best before date

red · Post: # 104886Post **red** » Fri May 23, 2008 11:58 am

we are doing major DIY in the kitchen at the mo, and in the process I found a packet of pudding rice, unopened at the back of a cupboard. the fact it was from safeways made me look at the best before date.. and its Nov 2002

I figured we would still eat it.. as it is dry, unopened.. but would you?

Millymollymandy · Fri May 23, 2008 12:08 pm

Yes, but check first for things moving inside the packet!

I just threw away the maize flour I used once for that recipe with the rosemary syrup, because I saw there were little bugs crawling around in it (not the maggoty ones, thank god though!).

Silver Ether · Fri May 23, 2008 12:08 pm

as long as it doesn't have little wiggly things in it ... rice gets that sometimes I would ...

Cassiepod · Fri May 23, 2008 12:35 pm

I definately would (so long as there wasn't anything living in it). Best before dates are only guidance, not drop-dead dates

Annpan · Post: # 104919Post **Annpan** » Fri May 23, 2008 1:09 pm

This worries me Red...
You have just said on another thread that you moved in 2006... you moved when the rice was already 4 years out of date

As for eating it... yeah go for it...
I reckon if it was off it would be green and mouldy... so if it looks good, go for it.

I decant stuff into galss jars, Lord knows how out of date some of that stuff is.

ina · Post: # 104921Post **ina** » Fri May 23, 2008 1:14 pm

Dry stuff keeps for ever - or so; didn't they manage to germinate stuff they found in the pyramids? Well, I'm sure that was "out of date" - but obviously still perfectly OK!

red · Post: # 104931Post **red** » Fri May 23, 2008 1:59 pm

Annpan wrote:This worries me Red...
You have just said on another thread that you moved in 2006... you moved when the rice was already 4 years out of date

i know.. i was hoping no one would put 2 and 2 together!

I keep meaning to make rice pudding.. but when you have fruit in the freezer it seems more sensible to use that first and make a nice crumble.. and somehow I never get around to it..
I decant stuff into jars too.. wonder how old that polenta is....

ina · Post: # 104932Post **ina** » Fri May 23, 2008 2:07 pm

We eat rice pudding with stewed fruit in Germany - very nice. So you could use up both in one go.

red · Post: # 104936Post **red** » Fri May 23, 2008 2:12 pm

good idea!

Post: # 104947Post **MKG** » Fri May 23, 2008 2:39 pm

Oh go for it. The whole idea of drying (and canning, which now also involves a sell-by date) is preservation. So, OK, the stuff you dried last year is OK this year and so, by definition, contains no harmful pathogens. So what prevents it from being OK the next year? A slow leakage of bacteria, maybe? A sort of creeping toxicity? Naaah - it's OK until it either smells funny or has the visible evidence of invasion from the creepy-crawly world.

My Goodness, I seem to be on one today!!!! Sorry.

Wombat · Post: # 105032Post **Wombat** » Sat May 24, 2008 12:16 am

Yup, have personally eated dried stuff over 15 yeas old and it was OK. The main problem is if the dried materials (such as some types of noodles) contain fats that can go rancid, but usually one whiff lets you know if that is a problem!

Nev

Milims · Post: # 105070Post **Milims** » Sat May 24, 2008 9:11 am

Millymollymandy wrote:Yes, but check first for things moving inside the packet!

I just threw away the maize flour I used once for that recipe with the rosemary syrup, because I saw there were little bugs crawling around in it (not the maggoty ones, thank god though!).

They will probably be psosids or book lice. They appear in "unopened" packets because they eat their way thru the glue on the packaging. They are pretty harmless I believe but what worries me is that they come into contact with the packaging while in the warehouse - because they are in the bat poop!

Stonehead · Sun May 25, 2008 7:05 pm

I've eaten 20-year-old army rations. And they were as bad as the day they were packed!

mrsflibble · Sun May 25, 2008 7:22 pm

I'll eat all kinds of dry goods after their sell/useby date.
the only things I wont touch are meats that smell or look funny, fish and dried fruit.

Millymollymandy · Tue May 27, 2008 5:22 am

Milims wrote:
Millymollymandy wrote:Yes, but check first for things moving inside the packet!

I just threw away the maize flour I used once for that recipe with the rosemary syrup, because I saw there were little bugs crawling around in it (not the maggoty ones, thank god though!).
They will probably be psosids or book lice. They appear in "unopened" packets because they eat their way thru the glue on the packaging. They are pretty harmless I believe but what worries me is that they come into contact with the packaging while in the warehouse - because they are in the bat poop!

Aha, could well have been, cos for once I hadn't bothered to decant into an airtight container because I didn't think I was ever going to use the stuff again!