By Karrie on | Updated | 96 Comments
Has this ever happened to you? You’re busy cleaning out your fridge and discover a brand new, unopened jar of pickle relish tucked in the back. Just when you’re about to think, “Score!” you notice it expired (gulp!) three months ago. Now what?
Should you really toss something that’s never been opened? What if something’s been opened but barely used? Is it still good?
Totally obvious toss-out situations aside (green fuzzy mold comes to mind), just how old is too old?
Couponers like myself are often buying things in bulk, and once in awhile there have been times when I’ve overshot it a bit and had some items not get used by their respective used-by date. During those moments, my husband always wanted me to toss the items right away, but I wanted to keep them longer and the debate would ensue. (Those were items I had worked hard to get for free or cheap with coupons!) So by doing a little bit of research, I was able to show him that it IS perfectly okay to hold onto and use items a little past the expiration date.
Here are the tips I’ve learned…
{Feel free to print out this list and keep it in your kitchen/pantry to reference.}
Now, assuming your fridge’s temperature is set between 38-40 degrees, the following rules apply per the USDA:
- Milk: Good for up to 1 week past the “Sell By” date.
- Eggs: Good for 3-5 weeks after purchase (provided you purchased them before the “Sell By” date, of course). Keep in mind that eggs should always be kept in their original container, not the plastic holders inside the refrigerator door! The plastic doesn’t allow eggs to breathe, which will cause them to spoil a whole lot faster.
- Condiments: These can be kept up to one full year in the fridge. The exceptions are: Mayonnaise, which should only be kept for two months—maximum—after opening and Salad dressings, which can be kept in the fridge up to three months after opening. Unopened salad dressing is good for up to one year past its expiration date.
- Meats & Poultry{It kind of goes without saying (but I’m going to say it anyway), perishables such as meat and poultry should be refrigerated right away or frozen for later use.}
If kept in the fridge, then the following rules apply:
- Poultry – 1 to 2 days
- Beef, pork, veal and lamb –3 to 5 days
- Ground meat or ground poultry –1 to 2 days
- Cured “cook before eating” ham –5 to 7 days
- Uncooked beef, pork or turkey sausage – 1 to 2 days
Frozen meats:
- Ground beef or ground poultry –3 months
- Whole chicken or turkey—one year
- Unopened bacon and lunchmeat—one month
Now let’s move on to pantry items, shall we?
- Grains purchased in boxes (think: rice, crackers, cereal) should be kept in air tight containers or plastic zipper bags for long-term storage. These babies are notorious breeding grounds for bugs and no one likes a bowl of weevils for breakfast! (Gag, shudder)
- Pastas—unopened and opened packages stored in air tight containers—will keep up to one year.
- Egg Noodles—1 to 2 months after opening.
- Rice—up to one year after opening (provided the moisture is kept out)
- Ground Spices—between 6 to 12 months.
- Whole Herbs/Spices—up to 2 years. You should always keep spices in glass containers—never those cute wooden boxes as they create a potential “critter fiesta”!
- Canned goods— good for up to 2 years after the manufacturing date. Rusty, bulging, dented or otherwise damaged cans should never be used.
And there you have it, folks! The official guidelines for expired food safety! Hooray!
Now, just because the food is safe to eat doesn’t necessarily mean that it will taste as fresh as it would when you first opened it. Rule of thumb—if it tastes or smells bad, toss it out!
In closing, I realize that not everyone is keen on eating food past its expiration (as a matter of fact, some of you may be cringing right now at the thought!). However, you should never feel as though you have to throw something out simply because it’s “expired” and waste your hard-earned money. **
{Word of caution: to avoid potentially serious risk or illness, it is highly advised that children, pregnant women, the elderly and sick/ill individuals who may otherwise be susceptible to food-borne illness avoid consuming expired food completely.}
So, do you typically toss out expired food or hang onto it for awhile past the use-by date?
References:
USDA Food Product Dating
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
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Savuth San says
Hi, I just ate pasta with cheese package thay was expired three year ago. What will happened to me?
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Deanna Paolasso says
I have a box of unopened Rice Krispies, are they still good? They expired on 12/11/12.
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patty says
can a person get sick or die from making and eating a cake mix that has expired?
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See AlsoGreen Goddess DressingSVETA says
I do not think so. You will bake it. That process of cooking is just like grilling or frying and kills bacteria. It might taste not good because it went rancid. Also, I hope do not have bugs in it.
I think this blog is not about making anybody eat expired food. If you do not feel right about it, do not eat it, toss it.
For me personally, if I am “on the fence” about some food and feel bad about tossing it out, I’ll give it to my dogs. I am talking about food that is obviously NOT spoiled or moldy. 2 weeks old salad!? They will enjoy it and will ask for more 😉 Of course, they do not get “people’s food” often: maybe once in two month or longer.
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lynn says
how long after sell by date yogurt last
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SVETA says
One month after expiration date yogurt tastes just fine.
At the same time, do not forget that peoples’ stomachs sensitivity differ; some can eat “rocks” and be ok with it.Reply
Marcy says
Wow some of these people take food safety to a whole other level. I grew up being around my grandmothers and great grandmothers, who in turn grew up in the depression. “waste not, want not” was their motto. There are stores around here that sell only expired and/or dented/damaged products. They are they place to go for good deals! Nothing wrong using expired products along with some common sense. The main expired products that I check are salad dressings (the oils can go rancid, you will smell it) carbonated beverages (loss of fizz) and other items that contain alot of preservatives. Amy- your popcorn should be fine, if anything the oil/butter might have gone rancid but I doubt it, only a year past its date. If it’s bad you’ll know by smelling it or tasting it.
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Amy says
I have some Orville Redenbacher’s microwave popcorn that has a Best By date of April 2011. Can I eat it?
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Kandy says
Yes I ate 7 month expired popcorn and it was perfectly fine. Just didnt pop as many kernels.
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pattyinkansas says
You guys are great! Glad I stumbled on this site 🙂 DON’T store meat in its original packages. I use freezer paper, and it elimintates that funky freezer burn. It makes meat last much longer. My old Betty Crocker Cookbook says you can freeze poultry for 12 months, and red meats for 6 months, (with freezer paper).
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robert huntzinger says
great advice,i love this sight,keep it coming
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Julie Miller says
You can freeze meats longer in a zero degree freezer such as a chest freezer. Much less time in your freezer that is attached to the refrigerator or one with an automatic defrost. What keeps the ice out also reduces freshness. You can store flour and yeast in the refrigerator or freezer, that helps to kill bugs and will also extend the expiration date.
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Kenya says
Hey ALL!
Do you think it’s safe to use all purpose flour stored in the original bag in the pantry, if the expiration date is 2011?
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Peg, Massachusetts, US says
Check for flour bugs!
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bren says
I agree with JayJay. My husband deer hunts so we always have a year’s supply of meat in the freezer. Canned foods…same thing. I’ve eaten them 3-5 years past the expiration dates listed. They’re always fine too. Probably wouldn’t go more than that, though. I grew up in a time when they never put dates on foods. We used are noses and eyes to tell if food was bad. I do agree that dry goods (flour, boxed potatoes, rice,etc.,) should be kept in the fridge or freezer for long periods of time. Since I don’t use these too often, I just store them there and use them thill they’re gone.
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JayJay says
I have meat in the freezer, bought at a slaughter house, grass-fed cow, over 17 months old—the t-bone steak last week was dee-lish-us.
I don’t know how this info was gained–I am 61 years old and grew up with the notion, beef and other meats, only kept 12 months.
Wrong–they vacuum seal now and it lasts much longer.
I will not discard any meat unless it looks bad or tastes bad.
And I ate 15 year old canned tomatoes, tomato juice, and green beans, canned by me.
OMG–pastas can be stored in a sealed 5 gallon bucket indefinitely!!!!Reply
Padgie says
Okay so my husband got done cake mix from his grandmaw it was butter pecan we prepared it baked it and got ready to eat it it expired in 2002 I’m freaking out because him and my daughter both are it. It smelled and rose done time! Eeeeek 🙁
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Jennifer says
i wouldn’t eat it Erin, I don’t trust stuff in the fridge longer than a week.
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Karrie says
True true Jennifer…I am never comfortable with leftovers in the fridge longer than 4-5 days personally. Its funny..I will eat expired labeled packaged food, but in the fridge leftovers just never taste good after a few days.
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Erin says
How long will prepared Suddenly Pasta Salad last in the fridge. I made some less than two weeks ago and I was wondering if it was still okay to eat?
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Travis says
Well I work at a grocery store, and what I’ve learned there is that manufacturer’s, as a general rule, set the “expiry dates” much before the product will actually go bad. This is because they have to guarantee freshness somehow. If they set the dates very close to when a product will actually go bad, it’s kind of a gamble on their part because some of those products will last longer and some might not last as long. So they play it safe and well I don’t know the actual numbers, but say the date is actually 2 months off from their tests. I mean they test the products to see how long they last (obviously, the point of researching and adding perservatives to products cannot go untested). also a shorter shelf life will mean stores buy more products more often because some will expire.
many grocery stores also have a discount item area or something like that. if Products actually went rancid on/right after their expiry, there’s no way we would sell these products. anyway, I don’t worry about products being bad because I first smell the product and look at it. I think that’s the best indicator, and also I have a friend who has a mold allergy or at least is very sensitive to mold and can smell mold even when it is in extremely small quantities so if anything is going moldy and I can’t smell it yet, she can.
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Taylor says
Hey, i have cake mix thats 5 months old, is it still okay to eat? :p
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Karrie says
I would… unless it smells rancid when you open it! 🙂 I have used expired cake mixes before, with no problem.
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Gary says
I have wondered how long foods are pasted the expiration dates of all types. My girlfriend’s pop has food going back to 09 and older. I am scared to eat that stuff, I like fresh foods. year ok…
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Christy B. says
I have used Knorr pasta mixes up to a year past the date and they have been fine. It all depends upon how they were stored though, if they were out in your garage getting hot in the summer time they might not be as good now.
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michael says
I got a couple boxes of pasta meals (ranch and Italian flavor) they are 5 to 6 mos past the sell by date. Are they still ok to use?
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