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Sell-by dates to be banned


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Old 15-09-2011, 01:57
diablo
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Apparently some people regard the 'sell by' date on food as the date on which is becomes poisonous.

I've seen TV programmes about food where people throw things in the bin when it is past the sell-by date, but surely not many actually do that ?

There will also be either a 'use by' or 'best before' date as well - what would these people think those dates refer to ?

Guardian Article

I often eat food when it is past the 'use by' date myself and never been ill from doing so, though I can understand people binning it - probably wise if to be eaten by the very old, young or ill.

'Best before' stuff is fine to eat after the date if it still looks and tastes okay of course.

But 'sell by' - that's for shop management not consumers.
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Old 15-09-2011, 05:25
Rubus
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Most of the major retailers already use "Use By" for food that can become harmful when eaten outside this date, & "Best Before" for products that just taste less appealing after the date.
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Old 15-09-2011, 07:35
whoever,hey
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Sell by is the legal one for shops to bin after.
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Old 15-09-2011, 07:42
zmikeo
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I find it's my children who won't touch the food once it has reached its use by date, whereas I will keep bread till the 1st touch of mold
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Old 15-09-2011, 08:21
SherbetLemon
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There will also be either a 'use by' or 'best before' date as well
Most items have one or the other right now anyway. The main difference is removing "sell by" and "display until" dates.

Interesting quote by Which:
"Four in ten consumers told us they ignore use by dates and use their sight and smell to check foods. Which? warns that you can't identify harmful bacteria in this way."
Personally I never go by sight and smell alone, but I've seen it said so often on here from people who do. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.
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Old 15-09-2011, 09:33
jos
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The "use by" labels can lead people into a false sense of security, particularly in hot weather, or if not stored properly. I have had produce which has been off by these dates.
People , it seems, have become unable to check for themselves if things are off or not.
Maybe education in this matter is needed.

My husband and I eat things after the "Use by" date once we had checked they are ok, but when our eldest son visits he goes through the 'fridge' and cupboards checking dates and throwing things out because he has been programmed by the 'elf and safety. Where as our generation were brought up before these labels were introduced and can tell the difference.
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Old 15-09-2011, 13:12
big_hard_lad
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I eat things regularly after the date on the packet. I don't even look at the date most of the time, if it looks and smells fine then it's fine regardless of what the date on the front says.

Although we've been discussing this story in work this morning and I'm absolutely appalled at some people....most of them won't touch anything after the date. Most won't even open a carton of milk and smell if it's sour if the date on the carton is today's date, they'll just throw it straight out. Even worse, one girl even admitted throwing things out on the day before the date just "to be sure". I actually pretty much got ridiculed for not adhering to the dates and saying that they are basically nonsense. I'm not weird for not sticking rigidly to dates though am I?! I mean...a pint of milk is not going to go off between 11.59pm on 14th and 12.01am on 15th?!
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Old 15-09-2011, 13:38
SeasideLady
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My husband and I eat things after the "Use by" date once we had checked they are ok, but when our eldest son visits he goes through the 'fridge' and cupboards checking dates and throwing things out because he has been programmed by the 'elf and safety. Where as our generation were brought up before these labels were introduced and can tell the difference.
This is just how it is with us. Plus we could probably think of something to cook with it and use it up, rather than throw it out. For example, I had a half used 600ml pot plain yoghurt, left from making a curry and raita. I noticed it was past it's date by a week, so I made the remainder into a yoghurt cake, and it was fine.
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Old 15-09-2011, 15:38
cake lover
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I always use things if they look and smell fine, people who go by dates really bug me!!

I remember having a real argument with someone who wanted to throw milk away as it was past the use by date. I was son cross that he couldn't see that if milk isn't fit to drink it smells off if it doesn't smell off then it's fine. It's not like it comes out of a cow with a date on it!!!
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Old 15-09-2011, 16:18
degsyhufc
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Personally I never go by sight and smell alone, but I've seen it said so often on here from people who do. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.
I'd say it was the other way around. It's ignorant to just go by the date of the product. There's bacteria on everything and it's not all going to kill you or even make you slightly ill. Your own senses will help you decide that.
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Old 15-09-2011, 16:24
cnbcwatcher
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I never go by dates on food except for fresh meat, fish or dairy stuff. I find stuff still tastes ok even after the best before date. I ate some out of date crackers last night and I'm still alive!
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Old 15-09-2011, 16:53
mirabelle
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I find it's my children who won't touch the food once it has reached its use by date, whereas I will keep bread till the 1st touch of mold
they soon change their attitude when they are buying all the food they need to consume.

Dates on packets in general annoy me. Why do you need them? If you can't see/smell something is off then thats a worry to me as I have had things that are in date go bad.

People have such waste this removing th sell by date won't stop themt hough
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Old 15-09-2011, 19:23
HazzaGrazza
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I tend to go by look and smell rather than the date on the packet. If it is fish or meat then I am usually a bit more dubious, but i've never been ill from it. I use most veg well after the date on the packet, as long as it is in a nice cool fridge it lasts ages!
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Old 15-09-2011, 19:24
whoever,hey
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Personally I never go by sight and smell alone, but I've seen it said so often on here from people who do. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.
I dont understand what you mean. Is using smell or the dates alone the ignorance?

I hardly ever go by dates. If i went by dates alone, i would have eaten mould!
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Old 15-09-2011, 19:26
whoever,hey
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Personally I never go by sight and smell alone, but I've seen it said so often on here from people who do. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.
I dont understand what you mean. Is using smell or the dates alone the ignorance?

I hardly ever go by dates. If i went by dates alone, i would have eaten mould! and my i would have made a crap stock at the weekend without the leek, celery and mushroom which was all past its date. What a waste of money that would have been too!
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Old 15-09-2011, 19:51
KidPoker
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They should have one and one only.

Use by.

The general population are idiots. They get too easily confused. Keep it simple.
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Old 15-09-2011, 20:08
Tassium
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More profits for supermarkets.

Is there anything that isn't for sale by this government?


Food one day before it's "sell by" date is often sold off cheaply, now it can be left on the shelf a day or two longer and charged full price.

This means that at home food might not last as long, even in the fridge.
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Old 15-09-2011, 20:36
degsyhufc
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They should have one and one only.

Use by.

The general population are idiots. They get too easily confused. Keep it simple.
Sell By/Display By are for stock taking. They don't really mean anything to the consumer, unless ofcourse you can get a discount.
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Old 16-09-2011, 08:49
big_hard_lad
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Anybody watch that Billy Connelly Route 66 thing last night? Apparently Al Capone invented sell by dates on milk. Interesting.
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Old 16-09-2011, 09:28
SherbetLemon
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I'd say it was the other way around. It's ignorant to just go by the date of the product. There's bacteria on everything and it's not all going to kill you or even make you slightly ill. Your own senses will help you decide that.
I dont understand what you mean. Is using smell or the dates alone the ignorance?

I hardly ever go by dates. If i went by dates alone, i would have eaten mould!
I was commenting on the quote from Which in my post, which showed that almost half those surveyed ignore sell-by dates, and judge based on sight & smell alone. Ideally, it's a combination of all three, with sell-by dates being the maximum, but binning early should your senses suspect something is off.

To give an example of ignorance, some people will cut off the mouldy part of a piece of cheese, and eat the rest, because the rest looks and smells ok. It's been said many times by scientists in various documentaries that I've seen that you should discard the whole piece of cheese because the likelihood of there being bad bacteria in the supposedly unmouldy part of the cheese is very high. Which's comment confirms this (i.e. you can't always see or smell bad bacteria).

For me, it's all a bit of a moot point anyway as we throw away nothing in our house. Good organisation and buying only what we need means we've always eaten everything within use by dates, and I can't recall ever having something go off earlier than it's use by date. Hell, I'm 40 years old and have never even seen mould on bread.
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Old 16-09-2011, 15:19
Watcher #1
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Getting dates simplified is a step forward. What they must do is keep educating people about 'Use by', 'Best before' and common sense.

I'm always more cautious with 'Use By' dates, as I know that that will be based on a risk to health. Still look and sniff to see.
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Old 16-09-2011, 15:58
degsyhufc
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To give an example of ignorance, some people will cut off the mouldy part of a piece of cheese, and eat the rest, because the rest looks and smells ok. It's been said many times by scientists in various documentaries that I've seen that you should discard the whole piece of cheese because the likelihood of there being bad bacteria in the supposedly unmouldy part of the cheese is very high. Which's comment confirms this (i.e. you can't always see or smell bad bacteria).
Apparently it hasn't filtered through to the Food Safety board as we had a big discussion about this during my Food Hygene course and it was said to be totally acceptable.
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Old 16-09-2011, 16:09
mirabelle
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I cut off mould on cheese. Most cheeses are mould meh
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Old 16-09-2011, 16:47
frankie_baby
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i'll often eat beef thats gone a day over its use by date, never chicken or pork though
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