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The most ‘Out of Date’ food product you ate and survived?

Posted by Simon, in Food Safety 11 December 2014 · 8,170 views

out of date expired food products
The most ‘Out of Date’ food product you ate and survived?

A lot of discussion in the press this week about ‘food waste’ and the fact that unrealistically short ‘Best Before’ dates are used on products to frighten consumers into throwing things away that are perfectly safe and edible. You can understand food producers who want to cover their backsides and also make sure that you don’t have their product hanging around in the back of your pantry for year’s…they want you to buy another one.

 

Anyway for a bit of pre-Christmas fun tell us about The most ‘Out of Date’ food product you ate and survived.

 

Mine was at a BBQ a couple of years back…I was offered a large sausage on a soft roll. It was an offer too good to refuse, I could have had ketchup, but I asked for mustard. The host disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a jar of Colemans Old English Mustard (see pic).

 

I liberally applied the mustard and devoured the sausage butty, thoroughly enjoyable. Later I found the mustard was FIVE YEARS out of date. Well I survived with no ill effects.

 

As it’s the festive season I will send an IFSQN pen to the members with the best stories. :santa:

 

Cheers,
Simon

 

Disclaimer:
At the International Food Safety & Quality Network we couldn't possibly advocate playing Russian roulette with your food…unless of course you wanted to. And who are we to dictate what you can and cannot do...we are not fascists.




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Peeps, twinkies, potato chips, milk on accident I thought it was just god awful cereal since I had never had Lucky Charms, bacon (Get an idea of how my diet looks?)...still kicking but may explain the crazy.

I used to work at a cannery than canned dairy based desserts (custard, rice pudding. tapioca, sago etc)

 

We used to make a very luxurious own brand rice pudding product, and when the factory closed I had a tray of 24 in my cupboard.

 

I still have 1 or 2 left, and they are now 9 years out of date, baring in mind that the factory closed about 7 years ago.

 

And I'm still here!

 

Caz x

I can already smell a pen. :smile:

Not sure if this counts as eating, but earlier this year I chewed a bunch of gum that was made in 1954. It didn't taste very good and it was hard as a rock at first but I persisted and after a few minutes it chewed just like a fresh piece. It even blew better bubbles than modern gum. It was made with a few ingredients that the FDA frowns upon now days but I didn't notice any ill effects..yet. I chewed gum made in the 70's also and that wasn't half bad, the peppermint, spearmint and licorice flavors were still good, cinnamon looked scary so I didn't try that one.

I drink a LOT of milk.  Mostly when I'm working out and dieting I drink around 3-4 slim fast shakes a day with skim milk and slim fast mix.  So obviously I've switched to skim milk which I'm not sure is actually milk anymore.

 

At one point somehow I had two gallons of skim milk which were purchased around the same time... maybe a day or two apart but hey I use a lot of it so does it matter? naaaaa...

 

And of course again at some point I bought another gallon of milk and I guess my FIFO and ingredient management at home isn't nearly as good as we have at work because one day I was eating cereal and realized that the skim milk I had been using was a month past the use by date...  just about 30 days.

 

Tasted fine so I kept on keeping on 

I'd reply, but I ate some old salad dressing and died. 

 

OK, seriously...I was always nagging my parents about date codes and what not. I'd come home to visit and find old cereal, old frozen treats, etc. Nothing vital like refrigerated meats or anything.  We'd do the sniff, then taste test and pitch accordingly.

 

Now that I am getting older (wait, what?) I am finding the old BBQ sauce, salad dressings, marinades, etc in my fridge. We had tater tots last month and I realized the ketchup 'expired' in 2011.  Tasted a little separation and vinegar, but we're OK.

I go to ask where you got some 60 year old gum? :lol:

Old R&D samples, I had boxes of records and samples from packaging and color trials, quality comparisons from different manufacturing facilities, all sorts of stuff the was stored in a closet and forgotten about. Before I tossed the old samples I had to try them, the colors of the gum were still so bright after 60 years and it looked yummy. I had samples of candy coated peanuts and pastel almonds but I wasn't about to try my luck with them. When it comes to appearance, the older the gum, the better it held up over the years. I still have some of the samples from the 70's if you want to try them.

They could have been worth something Cody.

I'd love some samples...maybe you hold a competition and give them away as a prize.

 

By the way great festive photo. :clap:

 

 realized that the skim milk I had been using was a month past the use by date...  just about 30 days.

 

 

Ugh.  After being a tech in a dairy I could never, ever drink milk on its own.  We had to taste sooo much milk, and part of the job was tasting retain samples X # of days past expiration.  We never swallowed...but man, I can't drink milk anymore.  No way. 

 

One time I smoked a cigar from Cuba that had been in the states since it was legal to ship here.  It was the sixth most unpleasant experience of my life. 

One time I smoked a cigar from Cuba that had been in the states since it was legal to ship here.  It was the sixth most unpleasant experience of my life. 

 

And the other five? :yeahrite:

Ugh.  After being a tech in a dairy I could never, ever drink milk on its own.  We had to taste sooo much milk, and part of the job was tasting retain samples X # of days past expiration.  We never swallowed...but man, I can't drink milk anymore.  No way. 

 

 

must resist urge... to say first things that comes to my mind..... 

 

But what I can say is after working in yogurt I fully understand.  Some days we had to taste upwards of 12 samples... white base alone... then white base with the fruit... blah!

 

So how dead should I be that I drank skim 30 days past it's due date?

And the other five? :yeahrite:

 

HA!!! :roflmao:

Oh my gosh just saw the disclaimer.....I don't care who you are....that's funny!

Green meat.   I bought it on sale, so it may not have been the freshest in the first place and then forgot about. What can I say, I was young, meat was expensive (it still is) and no way was I going to throw a roast out.     It had a bit of smell so I spiced it heavily, left it in the slow cooker until it fell apart and it was quite good.  Ate it for several days afterwards.  Not sure I would be quite so brave these days. 

must resist urge... to say first things that comes to my mind..... 

 

 

 

I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking it.

 

We live out in the middle of no-where, surrounded by woods. I had always kept a  few cans of tomato paste / tomato sauce for when the dogs got skunked (because it was not an "if" they do scenario... it was "when" they do) ... Anyways, I was making some homemade pizza sauce. Every time I would go to taste it, it just didn't seem right. Kept adding more spices ,more salt.... then finally took a good look at the can and it seemed I had grabbed one of these reserve cans. BB date was 1995.  O.o 

By the way has anyone tried Colemans Mustard?

I do have a story where I did get very sick. Mom packed me what I thought was a roast beef sandwich in my lunch for school when i was in middle school. Turns out it wasn't roast beef, but rancid ham. Several days of dry heaving. Life- long hatred of lunch meat. 

I have a tear in my eye IRI...a splash of rancid mustard would probably have done the trick.

I was issued a bean and frank MRE in boot camp while in the field (born on: 1984. About six years after I enlisted) . Obviously a dated surplus supply for trainees is a good test of gastro-fortitude... I passed... With what seemed to be the unwanted digestion of a zeppelin. Burning. Like "Oh, the Humanity"!

In my defense there was no complaint department.