If you are anything like me you will always have been a little confused by best before dates or use by dates, and in general I have always erred on the side of caution, and if in any doubt whatsoever I would throw the items out. But the question is was I being a little too hasty? Not according to some of the research I have found below. This information is top quality and will make you think long and hard about the food in your kitchen. The simple potato, for instance, can only really spout a few roots, but you can just break those off, and use them, right? Actually no, some potatoes contain a toxin, which is designed to ward off pests but can be harmful to a human’s immune system. So if the skin of the potato is green, steer well clear.
Eggs carry a significant risk of Salmonella poisoning. The easy way to tell if an egg has gone bad is when the egg and the yolk aren’t clearly separated. If you find a cucumber with tears on it, please throw that away instantly. The liquid that you see is a chemical produced as the result of decomposition, and can do some serious damage to your intestinal lining.
Contrary to some popular opinion these risks are not exclusive to fresh foods. Foods contained within packaging such as tins or bottles also can go badly wrong.if the best before date has passed, or the tin is swollen or bent throw it away, as this could cause botulism. The nose is definitely your friend when it comes to sniffing out problems, if something smells bad it invariably is bad, so don’t risk your families health for the sake of a few pennies. Time passes so quickly and I am willing to bet that even the most fastidious of housekeepers has some expired food in their house. The spice rack, for example, is an often overlooked place where rarely used spices can be long past their best before date. The risk here, of course, being as you are so engaged in creating your culinary masterpiece you throw in the specific spice without checking the best before date. It is not all doom as gloom though, and the video below will hopefully finally explain to you the full differences between “best before, use by and sell by” on your produce.