great buy....if you like EXPIRED FOODS!

[rct]

Today at Big C (former Carrefour branch) I was excited to see my favorite Alpen Mueslix (no sugar added!) on sale for only 111 baht. The sugar added Alpen also on sale.

Regrettably, the expiration date read "August 18, 2012" so I did not purchase it.

Now I'll admit I occasionally will buy deep discounted stuff, if on a special promotional display of nearly (or actually) expired foods, if within a few days of the expiration date. Friends know I can be penny wise and pound foolish anyway.

But to have it on the regular shelf with all the other cereals, three months past it's expiration date, seems wrong.

*****

Also, more than once in the past I bought Alpen that was NOT plastic wrapped outside the carton, and more than once when it was opened, it had lot's of little bugs crawling around, though was not obvious until was already in the bowl with milk and a couple bites down the hatch! I took back to the store for a prompt refund. Buy only if plastic wrapped around the box.

[mortiboy]

I love buying out of date goods
When I go to Big C, I head straight for the cheapy stack.
Some good , some bad.
Tesco sometimes have meat to sell out of date. Usually half price!
Last week, pre packed steak half price ...47 baht. Back at home, straight in the freezer
Fruit is often sold off cheap.But seldom buy.As fruit loses its vitamin after a time.
Often see Potato's reduced.Why, I dont know. Perfect! Mashed up, and frozen
I have a big chest freezer so can store food for a time.

[trubrit]

I don't understand the term 'expiration' date. Most food products are labelled with a sell by date, which is not an indication of freshness but a guide to the retailer for stock rotation. However the "use by date" does indicate that the contents are detoriating in some way after that and in the UK must not be sold, even if reduced in price .To overcome this problem most manufacturers of non fresh foods have adopted a date of manufacture and a best by date on their products, they normally reduce them when this date is getting near but most big stores do not try to sell them after it .I have just checked a packet of corn flakes and you might be surprised to know that the gap between being made and the best by date is three years. So you may be getting it cheap after this date but do you really want to eat it, even if you are saving a few pennies. :-"

[stattointhailand]

I really think that it's down to how the food is kept and what it is. A few years back I managed to "AQUIRE" some US army supplies via a friend in Germany. The best before date on many of the buscuits/chocolate/cake/crackers etc was over 5 years from the time I got my hands on it ... let alone when it had actually been packed.

I also suspect that the average portion of 10 minute old Somtam has far more "cultures" in it than any box of 3 year old corn flakes

[davecryan]

Food expiry dates were not introduced in the UK until 1982 !!!

I wonder...how did we and all our ancestors survive prior to that.?

Just wondering.

[pienmash]

Food expiry dates were not introduced in the UK until 1982 !!!

I wonder...how did we and all our ancestors survive prior to that.?

Just wondering.

When we moved from the old location i found some tins of peas that were over 2 years out of date ,,, so i ate em misen ,, nowt wrong with em at all ,,,, i always check for the best before dates but on tinned goods its daft really ,,, obviously i do see the point on stuff like biscuits , deli products etc etc .

[Shado]

I've seen "best if used by" dates on products such as vinegar, sugar and salt. Sorta makes you wonder.

[pienmash]

I've seen "best if used by" dates on products such as vinegar, sugar and salt. Sorta makes you wonder.

Inded Shado , there some products with best before dates that are heading shaking as to why ....... inturn there are also some products where fter the date of bestness they are perfectly eddible HOWEVER the general texture of the product changes ,,,,,,,,,, the best example of this is the good old jar of pickled onions ,,, taste great for ages yet the onions can go soft as apposed to crunchy ,,, im really careful now whe buying in stuff ...checking all dates on items that are in jars or packets/boxes etc , tinned stuff in generally ok .

As a footnote the last batch of John West tinned corned beef i purchased was dated 2016 ,,, i think im safe on that one .

mash

[parrot]

I used the last photo on my roll of film to take this picture.........less than 2 years to go on my kilo bag of salt. Manufactured 090911, consume before 090914.
If I don't consume it by then, maybe I can pay my gardener with it or I'll use it to pave my road or donate it to the four wiches of Chesire.

[Shado]

Yep, sort of head-scratching when most salt (halite) deposits are a few million years old.

[JimboPSM]

.... As a footnote the last batch of John West tinned corned beef i purchased was dated 2016 ,,, i think im safe on that one. .

That may depend on whether products destined for sale in Thailand would use the Gregorian or the Thai calendar

[davecryan]

One of the first men to make a commercial success of food conservation was Henry John Heinz. He started by bottling horseradish, and he was so successful that in 1869 he founded a company in Pittsburgh, USA. Like other Americans of his generation, Heinz made his name a household word throughout the western world. At last, man seems to have discovered how to preserve food without considerably altering its taste. The tins of food (Heinz tins!) which Captain Scott abandoned in the Antarctic were opened 47 years after his death, and the contents were not only edible, but pleasant.
Source..Heinz Co Website.

Perhaps the guy that said " I am going outside and maybe some time " went out to get a tin opener.

[mortiboy]

WOW! Thats amazing. So there you go,says it all.
But I dont think a tin opener would have been much use
Contents must have been hard as rock!

[rick]

As someone who worked for a while in the canning industry, best before dates are useful, but it depends on the product. All canned products slowly decline in taste and appearance but usually still safe to eat, recently some 100 year old corned beef was opened and eaten - tough, tasteless and colourless, but no-one died... Acid fruits do decline quickly, and also eventually corrode the tin from the inside - fruit like rhubarb, loganberries and pineapple.

but basically for tinned food, open it up - if the inside of the tin is not corroded, sight and taste test will tell you if you want to eat it.

For all other 'non-perishable' foods, usually will last double the length of the time between manufacture and sell by date - but does depend on how they are kept and if air is excluded.

[rct]

So in general and for edification, apart from canned foods already discussed above, how many days after "use by dates" should one expect quality to be satsifactory, for different food categories, and remember, sometimes foods may stored or transported in less than ideal conditions in this country, the warehouse store of Ngee Soon being an example of a hot environment:

Dry boxed foods such as cereals (Mueslix was the OP, 3 months past use by date)

Refigerated dairy eg milk and yogurt, or cheese

Tetra packs of milk and juice

My original post was also meant to convey that if products are close to or beyond their sell by dates, the retailer should just say so or at least put on a special promo display (some do), not only mark down the price on the regular shelf and trust the buyer will figure out and make their own informed decision. Not everyone reads "use by" dates, and some are hard to fugure out. I found a couple cans of Campbells soups with 2010 in my pantry (with a bit of rust on their bottoms), and could not tell if that was production date or use by date, so I went to Big C to find some more and reasonably concluded it was the use by date based on finding the same products with 2014 stamped on them.

[rick]

My knowledge and experience mainly related to UK, and the more extreme environment here will definitely affect shelf life; also insects are more numerous and can be a problem. but here goes for some general guide lines (but don't blame me if you get food poisoning!). For most manufacturers, the use by date has built in to it a level of brand protection - date up to which no decline in quality likely, otherwise could impact on reputation.

Perishable stuff kept in chilled cabinets probably will not last long past use by dates; something like pasteurised milk may not even make it to the use by date! if buying on last day of use by date probably safe for about 3 days. Generally i have found Yoghurt will last up to about a month as long as refrigerated. Cheese - will last some time, getting more mature - remember it is an age matured product any way. Only need to ensure not get to warm and watch for mould. Mould on cheese rarely dangerous, just remove infected part and rest ok. Last year i bought a block of Makro cheese and kept in the fridge for about 4 months - but that was it's limit as was getting a bit over the hill by then.

Briefly, tinned food - if fruit say 6 months over use by date, rest one year, after that, up2u.

Biscuits, cereals - probably a few months past expiry as long as well packaged - I've noticed packaging in Thailand much more robust than in UK probably to keep moisture and insects out.

Sauces - depends but probably months to a year or so.

Dry goods like rice, beans - as long as kept dry and INSECT FREE can last for years. i have seen packets of rice in Tesco's on sale with many living weevils visible .... wouldn't happen in UK.

[pienmash]

My knowledge and experience mainly related to UK, and the more extreme environment here will definitely affect shelf life; also insects are more numerous and can be a problem. but here goes for some general guide lines (but don't blame me if you get food poisoning!). For most manufacturers, the use by date has built in to it a level of brand protection - date up to which no decline in quality likely, otherwise could impact on reputation.

Perishable stuff kept in chilled cabinets probably will not last long past use by dates; something like pasteurised milk may not even make it to the use by date! if buying on last day of use by date probably safe for about 3 days. Generally i have found Yoghurt will last up to about a month as long as refrigerated. Cheese - will last some time, getting more mature - remember it is an age matured product any way. Only need to ensure not get to warm and watch for mould. Mould on cheese rarely dangerous, just remove infected part and rest ok. Last year i bought a block of Makro cheese and kept in the fridge for about 4 months - but that was it's limit as was getting a bit over the hill by then.

Briefly, tinned food - if fruit say 6 months over use by date, rest one year, after that, up2u.

Biscuits, cereals - probably a few months past expiry as long as well packaged - I've noticed packaging in Thailand much more robust than in UK probably to keep moisture and insects out.

Sauces - depends but probably months to a year or so.

Dry goods like rice, beans - as long as kept dry and INSECT FREE can last for years. i have seen packets of rice in Tesco's on sale with many living weevils visible .... wouldn't happen in UK.

An excellent point you bring up ref the weather conditions and insects ,, the humidty does shorten the shelf life of some products ,, to the extent of these being stored in temperature controlled conditions at the import agents warehousing in Bkk ,,,,,,,, in the early days of CC i tried to stock /pack n sell flour , oates etc but 9 times out of ten the bags arriving from the supplier were infested with weavals (spell check) suffice to say stipped stocking , even the pre packed imported flours would get these peskie little buggars in ..

Pretty accurate info on best before n sell by dates Rick .

mash

[rick]

Thanks for the comment John. You are long time in the business so should have a good idea. I have worked for short periods in Food canning, confectionery manufacture and grocery retail; mainly worked for MAFF (ministry of Agriculture fisheries and FOOD) and have degree in Biology. Lots of bits but helps provide me with enough knowledge to give that advice.

But after seeing Thai food hygiene and what they eat (like plaa raa) cannot explain why they are still alive! But for some reason, the way they do it is fairly safe - rarely get a bad stomach myself.

[pienmash]

Thanks for the comment John. You are long time in the business so should have a good idea. I have worked for short periods in Food canning, confectionery manufacture and grocery retail; mainly worked for MAFF (ministry of Agriculture fisheries and FOOD) and have degree in Biology. Lots of bits but helps provide me with enough knowledge to give that advice.

But after seeing Thai food hygiene and what they eat (like plaa raa) cannot explain why they are still alive! But for some reason, the way they do it is fairly safe - rarely get a bad stomach myself.

I nearly fell off mi chair when the health n safety AND Heath n hygiene municipal departments turned up at the new Nong Sim shop ,,,,i thort it was a piss take ,,,,,alas NO ,, 7,000bt per year for both certs (3,500 each) to say ive got a clean n safe shop n business ,,, when i see everyday the unhygienic foodcarts n IMO venues carry on regardless ... i pride my self on running a business that has QUALITY in its name ,, ,, ooooooops its nearly sign tax time ,, and then January licence renewal ,,,

ITS A MINEFIELD OUT HERE GUYS ..............

Mash