- We throw out seven million tonnes of food and drink a year
- If average family thought before they threw, they could save £60 a month
- Food is often edible past its best-before date
- Here’s how to tell…
16:34 EST, 28 May 2014
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02:21 EST, 29 May 2014
Use common sense: Some foods can still be eaten after their best before date
Why do we do it? A perfectly good salmon fillet is chucked away because it is just past its best-before date. As a food writer, author and cook, IÂ despair.
We throw out seven million tonnes of food and drink a year (19 per cent of what we buy), the majority of which could have been eaten.
According to the campaign Love Food Hate Waste, if the average family thought before they threw, they could save £60 a month.
So, last week I cheered as senior
supermarket executives from Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and the Co-op admitted
they regularly ignore expiry dates at home. ‘The rule is: smell it,’
said one manager from Morrisons.
Food
is often edible past its best-before date. You just need to exercise
common sense and use your eyes, hands and nose to determine how far you
can go.
Here are my tips on how to tell if food is still fresh enough to eat…
TOMATOES
For ripeness, you can’t beat a tomato a week or two past its best-before date. The softer and wrinklier the better!
Unlike
most vegetables, tomatoes get sweeter rather than starchier with time.
Even if the fleshy insides look dark rather than yellow-orange, they are
fine.
I’d avoid them only if they become watery, grow mould or have a whiff of alcohol.
FISH FILLETS
Filleted raw fish, such as cod, salmon and haddock, stays edible up to four weeks after catching, provided it is kept refrigerated below five degrees.
It stays safe, but will not taste good. Fish can take up to three weeks to get from the sea to the supermarket and because the date it’s caught doesn’t appear on the packaging, it’s important to take care.
White fish should look translucent with glossy skin, no smell and the flesh should stay springy but firm when pressed.
If the flesh looks cloudy, leaves an indentation when pressed or smells of soap, chuck it.
The stale ammonia smell comes from lactic acid in disintegrating flesh. If the fish looks green, avoid like the plague.
Waste: We throw away 19 per cent of what we buy
ICE CREAM
Even if kept in the freezer, ice cream has a surprisingly short shelf life. This is because it has a high fat content – thanks to all the double cream – so never fully freezes. It will lose its fresh flavour within three months.
If ice cream darkens, tastes sour or of yoghurt or cream cheese, it’s time to bin it.
PATE SAUSAGES
There’s not a lot of leeway with processed meats. Don’t risk more than one day past the sell-by date.
When meat is processed, chopped or minced, it is exposed to bacteria such as E.coli, campylobacter or listeria in the air, which grow quickly even when refrigerated. If it looks dry or has a mouldy tinge, throw it away. If the sausage or burger is sticky rather than smooth and shiny, or has a darker hue, don’t eat it.
EGGS
I’ve eaten eggs up to five weeks after buying, but mostly it’s wise to use them within three weeks of their best-before date.
To test, drop the egg into a glass of water. If it floats, it’s gone off because as it ages, more air gets inside the shell through microscopic holes. At the same time, the moisture content begins to evaporate, so the egg dries out. If it sinks, it’s fine to eat.
Look for a red lion stamp on your egg box, which means it comes from a hen that has been vaccinated against salmonella.
Dig in: If there’s no sign of mould, yoghurt can be eaten two months after the sell by date
YOGHURT
I’ve eaten yoghurt up to two months after the sell-by date.
When it is made it undergoes a lactic fermentation process, a preservation method that stabilises fresh milk to make it last.
Throw away if you spot the faintest speck of mould – which on yoghurt can come in all colours of the rainbow. But if it looks clean and fresh, and tastes good, you should be fine.
BEEF
Well-hung beef can taste fantastic after as long as five weeks and is quite safe if cooked well. You can easily stretch the best-before date by a few days.
But if rotten and putrid smelling, then it’s a sign that red meat has gone off.
I’ve been known to eat beef even if it has a few mouldy spots. I take a clean cloth and wipe it with vinegar to remove bacteria before cooking. Roast it at a high heat and the outer layer, which has the most pathogenic potential, will be well cooked and the bacteria killed.
Cook until it is well done all the way through (which you always need to do if it’s past its best-before date) and there will be little or no bacteria.
FLOUR AND SPICES
Ground spices such as chilli powder, paprika and cayenne can last for more than six months if they are labelled as ‘steam pasteurised’, ‘fumigated with chemical gases’ or ‘radiated’ – which means they’ve been sterilised to kill off mites.
These microscopic insects live in dry foods such as flour and spices. You won’t be able to see them, but you might notice tiny pock marks where they’ve been burrowing down into food.
Mites spread fungal spores and can cause rashes and itches, so bin anything you see with pock marks.
CHICKEN
Unlike fish, chicken deteriorates quickly.
The faintest whiff of rotting flesh or sour milk means it needs chucking, but give it a rinse under cool water before smelling to double-check the smell isn’t coming from the packaging. Generally, don’t risk eating chicken more than a day or two after its use-by date.
Often, after slaughter, the chicken is made easier to pluck by putting it in a simmering water bath to loosen the feathers, which accelerates the growth of bacteria.
This is how 99 per cent of the chickens sold in Britain are prepared.
Dry-plucked chicken (using hot wax, much like with human hair waxing) is a safer alternative and will last longer. Look for the processing method on the label.
Interview: INDIA STURGIS
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gramsie,
richmond C,
8 minutes ago
The spices in my pantry are years old. I think they have another few years as I long as I keep forgetting to use them.
Wulfrunwoman,
Wolverhampton, United Kingdom,
15 minutes ago
The fact that you can buy milk that has gone off before the sell by date proves how useless these dates are. Ignore the dates, use your senses, you can tell by looking ,feeling and smelling most foods whether they are safe to eat.
buttercookies,
Boston, United States,
37 minutes ago
The one I love the best are the medicines. I have bought very expensive medicine (they are all expensive in the US) and the expiration date is just around the corner. My family physician never paid attention to that. They trained me to see what is the reality of business when it comes to medicine and the rest. Have you seen how they only sell those epi-pen who are only good for two weeks? And they charge hundreds to the insurance for it? If you are lucky to have an insurance? It’s business! Just smell and use common sense.
Sandy Brown,
London,
38 minutes ago
I know how to do it. You eat the food and then if you are sick you know it was past its sell-by-date. He. He.
Robert Esquire,
Tamworth, United Kingdom,
49 minutes ago
Milk is not always refrigerated shops leave it out in the open even on hot summer days. Then they put it in the refrigerator too late, People think it’s been in there all day. Have you noticed how some people leave frozen packets near the checkout and the staff do nothing about it?
fredup,
Brigadoon, United Kingdom,
12 minutes ago
Kevin,
NYC,
54 minutes ago
“For ripeness, you can’t beat a tomato a week or two past its best-before date. †what kind of tomatoes are you buying? my don’t have any dates on them!! lol!
dingbat-40,
Toronto, Canada,
1 hour ago
If you get diarrhea its past the eat date
usednurse,
Scottish Borders United Kingdom,
1 hour ago
I ‘ve just had to throw out milk from the supermarket labelled ‘best before 31/5?. This has happened before with milk but my fridge is fine, I’ve checked it several times for temperature. I’m not talking about it being a bit dubious, it had started separating into curds and whey! Must learn how to make cheese.
julia56nottingham,
nottingham, United Kingdom,
1 hour ago
souffle,
Fl, United States,
1 hour ago
Six weeks after expiration date? Hold on just threw up in my mouth..
sally,
Mpls., United States,
1 hour ago
For past it’s prime yogurt, unless it’s moldy, freeze then feed to your dog on a hot day. He will love it.
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