Quote:
Originally Posted by Druchii
I've bought tonnes of expired food, that was marked as "expired" for a very very reduced price. Think i once bought 1Kg total of Dairy Milk chocolate for about 20p. Took me all of 2 days to finish it, and apart from feeling sick and guilty, i was fine. (Didn't eat chocolate for months afterwards mind!)
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As Zeph said, there is a big difference between 'best before' which is applied to things like biscuits, chocolate, frozen food, polo mints etc
and 'use by' which is applied to things like fresh/chilled ready meals, etc
Basically 'best before' means literally that, a biscuit past its 'best before' date isn't dangerous, it just might not taste as nice, be as crisp, etc
But food past a 'use by' date is potentially hazardous - i.e. may cause food poisoning, which is why it is illegal to sell - even at a reduced price.
Many food companies are doing lots of research into how to extend the 'shelf life' of chilled foods - most cooked & chilled ready meals have a life of about 6 days from manufacture, normally, but techniques such as using extremely high pressures or spraying with 'friendly' bacteria can extend that - and each day extra on the shelf is a further opportunity to sell it, rather than have to chuck it away
