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It's not technically `expired`, it's `best before date`. Yes, absolutely legal. For example, you can get an MSRP $1.89 can of Progresso Chicken Noodle at a sto

It's not technically `expired`, it's `best before date`. Yes, absolutely legal. For example, you can get an MSRP $1.89 can of Progresso Chicken Noodle at a store in Chattanooga Called "Discovery Outlet" for $0.25.

gumby 4y ago
And it’s perfectly fine to eat well after that date. It’s in the interest of the manufacturer to keep that “expiration” date as short as possible. Unlike with medication, there is no actual rule for when food expires.
- cogman10 4y ago
  It depends a lot on the food. Typically, canned food is practically immortal. If there's no bulge, it's good and modern canning has done a lot to avoid the bulge. Dried foods are somewhat similar, though they go rancid more readily. If you are in a super dry climate they last longer. Foods that need refrigeration, in my experience, tend to be super close to the use by/best by dates when it comes to going bad. Exceptions are things with a lot of vinegar in them (ketchup or pickles for example). Milk, though, seems to curdle right on the the date.
  - gumby 4y ago
    An example of an exception to your last point is eggs. In the US* the eggs could have been in a refrigerator for a week or up to a year before being sent to the supermarket. * I don’t know if this is still the case with the current 2023 high price of eggs. There has been a lot of monopoly/consolidation in eggs and it’s unclear what’s really going on.
  - drdec 4y ago
    FYI, ketchup does not require refrigeration. (How do you think restaurants keep bottles of ketchup on the tables all day otherwise?)
    - kspacewalk2 4y ago
      Seems reasonable to assume it'll last longer in the fridge though.
      - antifa 4y ago
        Also ketchup at restaurants probably has to be refilled daily, at worst weekly, merely from customers using it.
- xeromal 4y ago
  I've seen this similarly when I accidentally put a can of something in my pantry rather than the fridge, but it still keeps for a long time.
  - gumby 4y ago
    The point of canning is that refrigeration it not required. In fact it preceded refrigeration by about a century.
    - xeromal 4y ago
      I meant an open can.
      - EricE 4y ago
        If you have an open can then all bets are off - if out for more than a few hours (or definitely if overnight) safest to toss it. Canning only preserves as long as the can is sealed!
  - inglor_cz 4y ago
    You can keep butter for a long time in room temperature if it is submerged in water (e.g. in a pot). It also spreads really well, but your bread may get wet if you are not careful. Something that I learnt in post-1989 Czechoslovakia when we cut down on our electricity bill by turning the fridge off for weeks :) Ancient knowledge of my grandma who grew up in eastern Slovakia without any electricity served us well.
    - ProllyInfamous 4y ago
      From memory, does butter not float in water? Also, according to my circuit monitor: using three fridges full-time accounts for about 4% of my total monthly usage [FYI, Gramms].
      - inglor_cz 4y ago

gumby 4y ago

And it’s perfectly fine to eat well after that date. It’s in the interest of the manufacturer to keep that “expiration” date as short as possible. Unlike with medication, there is no actual rule for when food expires.

cogman10 4y ago
It depends a lot on the food. Typically, canned food is practically immortal. If there's no bulge, it's good and modern canning has done a lot to avoid the bulge. Dried foods are somewhat similar, though they go rancid more readily. If you are in a super dry climate they last longer. Foods that need refrigeration, in my experience, tend to be super close to the use by/best by dates when it comes to going bad. Exceptions are things with a lot of vinegar in them (ketchup or pickles for example). Milk, though, seems to curdle right on the the date.
- gumby 4y ago
  An example of an exception to your last point is eggs. In the US* the eggs could have been in a refrigerator for a week or up to a year before being sent to the supermarket. * I don’t know if this is still the case with the current 2023 high price of eggs. There has been a lot of monopoly/consolidation in eggs and it’s unclear what’s really going on.
- drdec 4y ago
  FYI, ketchup does not require refrigeration. (How do you think restaurants keep bottles of ketchup on the tables all day otherwise?)
  - kspacewalk2 4y ago
    Seems reasonable to assume it'll last longer in the fridge though.
    - antifa 4y ago
      Also ketchup at restaurants probably has to be refilled daily, at worst weekly, merely from customers using it.
xeromal 4y ago
I've seen this similarly when I accidentally put a can of something in my pantry rather than the fridge, but it still keeps for a long time.
- gumby 4y ago
  The point of canning is that refrigeration it not required. In fact it preceded refrigeration by about a century.
  - xeromal 4y ago
    I meant an open can.
    - EricE 4y ago
      If you have an open can then all bets are off - if out for more than a few hours (or definitely if overnight) safest to toss it. Canning only preserves as long as the can is sealed!
- inglor_cz 4y ago
  You can keep butter for a long time in room temperature if it is submerged in water (e.g. in a pot). It also spreads really well, but your bread may get wet if you are not careful. Something that I learnt in post-1989 Czechoslovakia when we cut down on our electricity bill by turning the fridge off for weeks :) Ancient knowledge of my grandma who grew up in eastern Slovakia without any electricity served us well.
  - ProllyInfamous 4y ago
    From memory, does butter not float in water? Also, according to my circuit monitor: using three fridges full-time accounts for about 4% of my total monthly usage [FYI, Gramms].
    - inglor_cz 4y ago