You can include them in your meals without posing a health risk once their best before date expires
The foods that are packaged and sold in supermarkets and establishments include a limit date for their consumption. Manufacturers are required to include the expiration date on perishable items, and a best before date on those that don’t spoil as much over time. What is the difference between both? The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) explains that in the first case, if you eat a product it poses a risk to your health, while in the second case “they are not dangerous”.
Thus, there is a list of foods that if that preferred consumption date expires and you eat them, nothing happens. It will not cause any harm to your health because they are more durable products. But then, why do they mark a date? Because although they are not harmful, they do lose properties. It is a question of quality. If you want to enjoy its authentic flavor, it is better to do it before that limit day arrives. While perishables, such as raw and fresh meat and fish, are more sensitive to the passage of time and can generate harmful pathogenic bacteria. In this case, they should never be eaten after the expiration date because their consumption is dangerous.
The foods you can eat if the date has expired
These are the 10 foods that you can eat as long as they are not open or show signs of being spoiled:
– Yogurt. This is one of the products that produces the most confusion among users. And it is that normal milk cannot be taken after the expiration date, but yogurt containing pasteurized milk in 2014 changed its labeling to include a preferred consumption date. The only thing you can find if you eat it days later is that its acidity has increased somewhat.
– Bread. If the bread is in good condition after the best before date, you can continue using it in your meals. Of course, you have to be attentive to its appearance because it is prone to mold if the environment and temperature are not right. To do this, you have to keep the bread in dry places that are not in contact with moisture. Although the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) clarifies that it does not have to cause damage to health, it is better to throw it away.
– French fries and nuts. They are two foods that can be stored in the kitchen pantry for a long time. It does not pose any risk, but its flavor changes quite a bit until it becomes unpleasant. Something that you have surely already experienced with some stale pipe that sneaks into your bag. Up to a month later you can consume these salty snacks.
– Buns and cookies. The sweets that are sold packaged in the supermarket and have passed the best before date may be somewhat more rancid and dry, but if we try them and they are good, there is no problem in eating them. Both the buns and the cookies are made to last.
– Soft drinks and alcohol. They can be consumed even if the established time has passed. Their color or flavor can change a little and some lose sweetness because the sweeteners can break down, but it is not harmful. That is why it is best to try them, and if they are good, you can continue taking them. In the case of alcohol with a graduation greater than 10% of the volume, it is not required to have a deadline or guideline. The OCU points out that they should have it because they do break down, even if it is years later.
– Pasta, rice and legumes. When shopping for several days, it is common to buy basic foods such as pasta, rice and legumes. And they last a long time. Of course, they must be dry products that you do not find in the refrigerated part of the supermarket so that their consumption after the date does not pose any problem.
– Jam and butter. The jam, which can be of many flavors (strawberry, peach, raspberry or pear), can be used on your toast or your desserts up to 6 months later if it is homemade. In addition, you do not need to put it in the refrigerator if your house does not exceed 25 degrees. In the case of butter, you should store it whether you have opened it or not in the fridge. You can also skip the best before date days, but these fat spreads tend to go rancid. It is advisable that you leave it in its original container.
– Sausages and cured cheeses. Vacuum-packed sausages or in modified atmospheres can last up to one month after the date indicated, with the exception of turkey or cooked ham. And the cheese also resists if it is cured for several weeks. The same does not happen with fresh cheeses, since having a lot of water, they are more fragile.
– Envelope soups and sauces. These ready-made foods that hardly need much preparation can be consumed after the date has passed if the product has not been opened.
– Tomato packaging. If the product has not been opened or handled, it can be included in your recipes even if the consumption date has expired. But if you open it and you find a strange appearance or a bad smell, it is better to throw it away.
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