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Check the dates!

L

Lisa

New member
A lot of people don't think to check expiration dates on food or food items when they are bought online. Don't let it slide! I recently did an order for cat food on Amazon since it was on special and the caned were out of date by 2 months!
 
Check the dates on discounted items at the grocery store too. Usually they aren't out of date, but you may have less time than normal to eat them.
 
Most things you can actually go past the date. Can goods at least a month. For dry goods like noodles and rice they keep almost indefinitely. For pet food, I have no idea and would probably not risk it.
 
If it is not meat/dairy or has meat/dairy in it, I will let things go a good month past the expiration date. I have eaten 3 month old chips and they tasted fine. I only do this is the items have not been open. Once they are open, they get tossed when the date hits.
 
I find that certain foods get overlooked a lot more in the stores and online that others and pet food and pet treats seem to be one of the biggies. So yeah, I second this. ALWAYS check your dates!
 
Clipper said:
If it is not meat/dairy or has meat/dairy in it, I will let things go a good month past the expiration date. I have eaten 3 month old chips and they tasted fine. I only do this is the items have not been open. Once they are open, they get tossed when the date hits.
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Same here. I don't think everything should be thrown out right away. A lot of food bank places offer expired food that is sealed. They buy it up from stores or get it donated from stores and then offer it very cheap. The one by be charges $10 a bag. You put whatever you need in the bag and once it is filled, it is $10. I helped out in the fall and they all said that most foods last a lot longer than people think.
 
I ordered some crackers on Amazon that arrived expired. I didn't notice till 10 days later at which point I couldn't really send a complaint. I am going to check from now on, specially on there.
 
I saw a picture of a container of gourmet salt that was funny. It said "formed over 230 million years at the basin of such and such sea". Under that it said "expires ....." with a date! Funny, salt doesn't expire but they probably are required to put a date on it. Or maybe they hope people will throw it away and buy another package.
 
The salt I buy doesn't have a date on it anywhere. I buy that pink sea salt stuff. I was looking the other day and wondered why. I guess it makes sense it never expires. You can put some in water and the water will stay completely clear for good.
 
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