Sell-by/use-by dates, a new extreme re safety!

Maybe beekeepers should put "BB end of year 999999999999"? Or similar

M0nica the one I find most amazing is honey....
That has a date on even though the honey found in the tombs of ancient Egypt is still fine!

Teabags have a used by date oops

Witzend

I seem to recall reading that honey found in an Egyptian tomb, that was around 3000 years old, was still edible!

Honey is the only food that never goes bad.

I seem to recall reading that honey found in an Egyptian tomb, that was around 3000 years old, was still edible!

grandMattie

I'm still using a large pot of petroleum jelly, BBE 2002.

It is made from oil that is millions of years old. How on earth would it ever go out of date?

Does Sudocrem have an expiry?

My hand was a bit chapped, so I rubbed some on from a tub left behind when GS was a baby.

He’s now nearly 20.

Witzend

Just seen on MN, someone asking whether teabags dated end of Nov 24 are safe to use! Words almost fail me….

I think the date must have been "best by"? Not "use by"?

They have to put these dates on by law. Even marmite has a best before date.

Yet, when scientists/explorers found Scott of the Antartic's food stash, and opened some of the tins and packages, I think all the food was still safely edible, albeit, the flavour had gone off.

M0nica

grandMattie

I'm still using a large pot of petroleum jelly, BBE 2002.

My pot dates back to the late 1980s/early 1990s, or possibly even older. It is the only pot I have ever owned.

My pot of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly is BBE 2006, still as good as new. How does that company make a profit?

Witzend

Just seen on MN, someone asking whether teabags dated end of Nov 24 are safe to use! Words almost fail me….

Whilst this does seem ridiculous I do know that herbs kept in a kitchen can go off and develop toxins if damp gets in.
Where were the teabags stored?
There was a case of poisoning from herbal tea bags in America a couple of years ago.

grandMattie

I'm still using a large pot of petroleum jelly, BBE 2002.

My pot dates back to the late 1980s/early 1990s, or possibly even older. It is the only pot I have ever owned.

I've always assumed best before dates were about them tasting fresh and if you go past they might not taste as good. I use things past the date but not usually by much and they seem fine.

welbeck

You mean that we are older and wiser ?
Of course.
But anyone driving should walk around their vehicle and make basic checks re lights etc.
And thereby notice how hazard warning lights operate.

Whenever I have my car MOT’d they seem to leave various lights on or adjust the heating. I drove back from the garage once, turned the heater on and couldn’t see a thing as the windscreen clouded over. I always check everything before I drive off now. One year they left my ( I think) fog light on and I got pulled over by the police because it’s illegal to have it on if it isn’t foggy

HelterSkelter1

Up until my 40s or 50s, I was pretty ignorant about all sorts of things and often pretty stupid. I have learned a lot since....hopefully.

PS. If you watch and read rubbish, you tend to think rubbish.

I'm still pretty stupid and ignorant and I am in my 70s. Must be all the rubbish books I read and the rubbish films I watch.

I rarely if ever look at any kind of date on food. I know when I bought it, how it was produced and what and how to judge whether it is safe to eat or not.

It never even occurred to me that teabags would have BBE date on.

The only dates I keep an eye on are things that go in the fridge and even then I look and smell regardless.

fancythat

But they are all things we have learnt ourselves, somewhere along the line.

Not necessarily, much of it is common sense learned at a very young age.

The problem is that too many people are so divorced from how the food they eat is produced and processed that they are incapable of thinking through whether any product is safe to eat after the 'best before' date, - whcih answers the question before it is asked.

Witzend

Just seen on MN, someone asking whether teabags dated end of Nov 24 are safe to use! Words almost fail me….

What sort of replies did she get?

E.G.

“I would bin them, best to be on the safe side” ?

Up until my 40s or 50s, I was pretty ignorant about all sorts of things and often pretty stupid. I have learned a lot since....hopefully.

PS. If you watch and read rubbish, you tend to think rubbish.

I'm still using a large pot of petroleum jelly, BBE 2002.

Krispii, I have just finished the paracetamol that was prescribed for my husband who died in 2020! It went out of date in 2023. They still worked perfectly well. May have been the placebo effect!

I doubt that there is a use by date on tea bags.
More likely a best before date.
Use by relates to food safety.
Best before relates to quality.
May be a bit stale if beyond best before date.
Whereas ignoring use by may risk health.

A youngster in my office asked for some paracetamol as I usually had some in my drawer and then immediately threw the packet into the bin as they were just past their date!
I tried to explain that they didn't turn into anything lethal as soon as the expiry date was reached....

Our generation was taught differently too. For younger people, I think if something is not written down, or of a warning (use by, etc) is written down, they accept it as an instruction. We mostly grew up using our eyes, noses and tongues to ascertain if a food was edible. Many of us still do.