Should you smell food before throwing it away?

[Northerner]

Half of the world's food is wasted, a new report says. Consumers typically use the "best-before" or "use-by" dates to decide when to throw food away. But should the "sniff test" be used instead?

Sour milk. Smelly fish. A mouldy banana.

Some foods have a distinct smell when they are past their best.

Typically, people rely on "best-before" dates and "use-by" labels to determine when to throw away food.

Guidance from the UK's Food Standards Agency says "best-before" dates are supposed to tell the consumer more about "quality than safety" - indicating when a product may begin to lose its flavour and texture, but not that the product becomes dangerous to eat.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20971347

 

[Sazzaroo]

I always go by my own judgement on foods and admit I have had yogurts passed sell by date for up to 2 or 3 weeks and they have still been ok.

If I know it's going to smell then I ask Mr Roo to check it out lol 😱

 

[Northerner]

I always go by my own judgement on foods and admit I have had yogurts passed sell by date for up to 2 or 3 weeks and they have still been ok.

If I know it's going to smell then I ask Mr Roo to check it out lol 😱

A friend of mine runs a dairy and he always said yoghurts last way beyond their sell by date, so I'm also happy to eat them a couple of weeks after 🙂 Remember the time when practically the only yoghurts you could get were 'Ski'? 🙂

 

[Steff]

Go by eyes on a lot of food a work thn sniff it if i can't decide

 

[Donald]

What did people do before the use by and best before dates, they used their eyes and nose to look at the appearance and smell. these dates are just a guide I have worked in the food Industry since the late sixties and find these dates are one of the cause's of wasted food and buying far too much at once I was in a supermarket a while back and saw a couple with two deep trolleys each all full. Think I'll stop now.

 

[FM001]

Depends on the food, raw poultry and pork I'm vary careful and will try and eat within the use by date. Veggies Tins Cereals and packet foods they get eaten well after, cheese and cooked meats depending on looks and smell.