Expired Food

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When can you throw away expired food? Do you have to throw away mayonnaise, mustard or snack pudding cup?

Just done a little looking up to see how the US labelling system works.

It seems to be the same system as here in the UK, but using different words:
• Sell by: this is for shop managers, ignore it.
• Best by: might not taste as nice after the date, but it shouldn’t make you ill.
• Use by: this will most likely make you ill if you use it after the date.

Most labels should tell you where to keep the food safely, although it might be small writing in a corner.

In the UK we also have “once opened use by” then a number of days, don’t know if you have that in the US.

Regardless of any of these labels it’s always a good idea to smell anything that has milk, cheese, eggs, meat or salad in it first: if it smells weird, don’t eat it.

Food in cans can still be fine after 10 years, or even longer. I'm still making my way through a large supply of tinned mackerel that I bought in 2008.

yep those are commpnplace here.

tinned stuff in general is meant to last, but if you see the tin bulging or expanding in any way, throw it out. most likely it has been infected with clostridium botulinum which could kill you.

it's also what they use for botox.

What if the food don’t have used by or best by, they just have the date.

That would most likely belong to the 'best by' category, because if there was a real health risk it would probably need to be made clear. Just my opinion though.

Kitty, the oils in mayonnaise can go bad after a few months even under proper storage, rancid oils are BAD, carcinogenic. avoid them even if it means throwing out good food, but don't worry as you can taste when mayo goes bad, it is no longer delicious and picks up [in the beginning] a cardboardy smell and flavor, later on it turns sour/bitter so you will know it's no longer good to eat. mustard likewise. snack pudding cups can go bad after about a year unless kept refrigerated.

It depends on the food! Usually I just look up the specific food on Google or something if I don't know.

Like, if eggs or milk just had the date, you can tell eggs are bad whether they sink or float in water, and milk from the smell.

Other things don't have a good "tell" but can make you seriously ill if they ARE bad, so I wouldn't risk those types of things.

And even other things really just have a date on them for legal or taste purposes and no other reasons. For instance, I have a box of Sweetarts on my desk that "expired" two years ago but they are perfectly fine to eat. The only difference is that they taste slightly more chalky than the non-expired kind, but I like the chalkiness.

My mom uses the general rule that if it looks okay, smells okay, and tastes okay, it probably is okay. If something looks, smells, or tastes differently than it usually does, it has probably gone bad and may make you sick. There is a broad range of specific time when a food is probably fine even if it’s passed its date, for example shredded cheese may be good for about a week after as long as there isn’t mold or anything growing on it, but canned goods may be fine a year or two after their date. Mustard is acidic enough that it can last a long time without spoiling, but mayonnaise and pudding cups may go bad fairly close to their date. I think both mayonnaise and pudding cups will smell/taste off if they’ve gone bad.

I throw old food in a compost pile for recycling. I just tossed some six year old oats and bought a new supply for $2.
I have too much to do to obsess over a few dollars worth of food each year.

It may help to change how you buy and eat food. Don't buy lots of food just because it is cheaper in quantity.
I bought little jars of jelly and preserves. That is all I need for a couple months. My mustard comes out of gift boxes. A little jar lasts a year.

It also makes sense to eat something day after day if you can do that. Minimizes waste. If you switch around all the time it is much easier to forget to eat something before its expiration date. Most food tastes better if you eat it right away.

Can tabasco sauce go bad after it's been open a while but stored in the fridge

in its manufacture, it is aged up to 3 years. in light of that, the truth is that tabasco sauce can last for years, whether opened, unopened, unrefrigerated or refrigerated. but- it will not last forever. tabasco sauce does eventually expire. while it won't spoil or become poisonous, it will lose much flavor over time, the vinegar flavor remaining to the last. so your tabasco sauce likely is safe, but do use it while it is at its best. bon appetit