# Expired Food



## Startingover

My kids got a big laugh out of the commercial recently it shows a young couple in a new house sitting on the sofa and they say they have aunt trouble. 1 aunt rubs her finger along a shelf and says “big house hope you can keep it clean.”

Another aunt Is bent over, with her head in the fridge, pitching things over her shoulder as she yells, EXPIRED EXPIRED.

My kids think I worry about that expire date too much but it’s on there for a reason. If I am going to go to the trouble to cook I want the best flavor possible. Of course there are exceptions and that doesn’t mean the very next day I’m going to pitch stuff out.

Daughter asked if I wanted to take some popcorn home from her house. I know her so I looked at the expiration date. It had expired 4 YEARS ago!

Tell me I’m not the only one that checks expiration dates when they take something out of their pantry.


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## wooleybooger

I don't worry too much about it as long as the can isn't bulging or rusting.


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## stick\shift

Some things do expire around the date but many things are good long after. If it still looks and smells normal, it likely is.


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## surferdude2

When it comes to date expired popcorn, it'll not pop completely and you can break a tooth on those "hard attacts" as my biscuit burner calls them. You can do that whether or not it's expired but moreso if so.  I like it even so though.


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## Startingover

Volunteers at our church pantry use a black marker and write expiration dates on cans because often they’re hard to read. with people donating things and different workers in the pantry we try to be careful.


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## wooleybooger

I mark date purchased on items I put in my rather large panty. Basic warehouse keeping, first in, first out.


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## Colbyt

Within reason I completely ignore them especially the Best by dates.


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## joed

I have never seen an EXPIRY date on food. It always a 'best before' date.


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## ZZZZZ

Things like vitamins and medications do have expiration dates. And with only a few exceptions such as antibiotics, expiration just means it starts to lose its efficacy and effectiveness.

But as far as food is concerned, the whole thing is essentially a scam.


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## surferdude2

Here are seven specific food items you should never eat past the expiration date. 

*1. Deli Meat
2. Eggs
3. Fresh Berries
4. Mixed Greens
5. Raw Seafood
6. Raw Meat
7. Soft Cheese*

Copied from HERE  where there is more information on each item.


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## CaptTom

Startingover said:


> My kids think I worry about that expire date too much but *it’s on there for a reason.*


Absolutely! The biggest reason is selling more product.

Also, some government regulations require a "sell by" or "best by" date, even on things which don't really need it. That said, there are products which really are better before a certain date. Like the microwave popcorn mentioned above. The correct moisture content is critical for popping. Likewise, crackers and other baked items can go stale.

Sometimes it can be comical. Water was here on this planet 4.5 billion years ago, but look at the bottles of water in the store, and you'll see they have an expiration date. Or this:


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## wooleybooger

surferdude2 said:


> Here are seven specific food items you should never eat past the expiration date.
> 
> *1. Deli Meat
> 2. Eggs
> 3. Fresh Berries
> 4. Mixed Greens
> 5. Raw Seafood
> 6. Raw Meat
> 7. Soft Cheese*
> 
> Copied from HERE  where there is more information on each item.


I'll take exception to the eggs Surferdude. I've got eggs in the frig months past the use by date and they are still good, I use them. That said I have had eggs so long that they thickened. I've even dehydrated dozens of whole eggs that were past the expiration date and held them over a year after I dehydrated them. The temp I dehydrate at is high enough to kill salmonella and I bake with those eggs so that temp ensures no salmonella. Of course a rotten egg will be noticed before being mixed in with non rotten eggs.


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## surferdude2

wooleybooger said:


> I'll take exception to the eggs Surferdude. I've got eggs in the frig months past the use by date and they are still good, I use them. That said I have had eggs so long that they thickened. I've even dehydrated dozens of whole eggs that were past the expiration date and held them over a year after I dehydrated them. The temp I dehydrate at is high enough to kill salmonella and I bake with those eggs so that temp ensures no salmonella. Of course a rotten egg will be noticed before being mixed in with non rotten eggs.


I don't doubt they last longer than I ever needed them to. As a young lad on the farm, I was often in charge of gathering the eggs. Sometimes when I told mom I found a new nest, she'd check them to see if they floated in water and pitch them to the hogs if they did. She said if you ever cracked a rotten one in a skillet, it'd be a long time before you wanted an egg again.

Eggs don't last long enough around here to worry about any date code. I boil 18 a week (no floaters) and leave 12 for frying and flapjack or corn bread mix. We manage to use them up before store day rolls around the following week.. My favorite way is boiled but basted in butter is a close second. I like a little lace on them so I use a very hot skillet, what I like to call cowboy style. YMMV

I found something on 11 ways to fix eggs that you might find interesting. I think I've had them most of those ways except for the sunny side up or the runny white ones... can't stand them like that.


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## CaptTom

OK, that salt thing got me thinking...

People pay extra for "sea" salt. This is the stuff that's made artificially by evaporating sea water. Polluted 21st century sea water.

The cheap stuff is "regular" salt which was created by natural evaporation of sea water millions of years ago. Before there were any people around to pollute it.

Conclusion: People are gullible.


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## Startingover

surferdude2 said:


> I don't doubt they last longer than I ever needed them to. As a young lad on the farm, I was often in charge of gathering the eggs. Sometimes when I told mom I found a new nest, she'd check them to see if they floated in water and pitch them to the hogs if they did. She said if you ever cracked a rotten one in a skillet, it'd be a long time before you wanted an egg again.
> 
> Eggs don't last long enough around here to worry about any date code. I boil 18 a week (no floaters) and leave 12 for frying and flapjack or corn bread mix. We manage to use them up before store day rolls around the following week.. My favorite way is boiled but basted in butter is a close second. I like a little lace on them so I use a very hot skillet, what I like to call cowboy style. YMMV
> 
> I found something on 11 ways to fix eggs that you might find interesting. I think I've had them most of those ways except for the sunny side up or the runny white ones... can't stand them like that.


I agree. I eat a lot of eggs. Eight yrs ago I was buying local eggs from a market. Every other carton would have an egg with a double yolk which fascinated me.


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## de-nagorg

Expiration dates are nonsense, if the container is still intact.

It is a sales gimmick, started by salesmen to sell more product.

As a young man, I found an old root cellar that was stocked with canned peaches, beans, squash, rutabagas, and other supplies.

All canned in glass jars with glass lids, and wire bales, sealed with a red rubber ring.

I estimated from around 1900.

I never ate so good, and never got sick, or even had dysentery. 

I did discover that a can of Sloppy Joe sauce will eat the can , and rust from the inside out. Probably the tomato acid in the sauce.

As for the expired popcorn, it probably won't pop, because it takes a drop of moisture inside the kernel to create the steam needed to pop.


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## Missouri Bound

de-nagorg said:


> Expiration dates are nonsense,


Pretty much.
The date is there for the store, not the consumer. It allows the store to get credit for items not sold by the expected time and allows them to adjust their inventory.
It is, for all purposes, the "sell by" date. 
It is not an indication of freshness.
Anything will spoil if not stored properly but the date isn't the secret to that.


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## Old Thomas

When a chicken lays an egg the chicken secretes a material that seals the shell and the egg lasts a long time, but it looks dirty. For store sales eggs are washed so they are nice and clean but then the shells are porous so they don’t last as long. The eggs I gathered as a child were dirty looking but they lasted.
‘We don’t eat food past the date on the package unless we froze it.


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## CodeMatters

Suggest googling "expiry date vs best before date". 
They are not the same.


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## KaseyW

I've seen a lot of information about eggs (which I happily keep and use well past the carton dates). I'm putting in my 2 cents about milk. I know a lot of you cringe at the thought of skim milk, but I grew up on it and am fine with it. In addition to being healthier, it also lasts nearly forever. The part of milk that goes bad in short order is the fat. When there's no fat content, the taste (it does, too, have a taste!) remains unchanged for well over a month past the "expiration" date.


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## Nik333

To anyone reading this thread, it includes a lot of terrible advice. 😄
Look it up. 




__





Food Safety Home Page | CDC


Get information from CDC on preventing food poisoning, food poisoning symptoms, foodborne disease outbreaks, and recalled food.




www.cdc.gov




This applies to cans and jars you buy also -








Home Canning and Botulism


Home canning is an excellent way to preserve garden produce, but it can be risky—or even deadly—if not done correctly.




www.cdc.gov





We've become used to a higher quality of store bought food.

When in doubt, throw it out.


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## Startingover

KaseyW said:


> I've seen a lot of information about eggs (which I happily keep and use well past the carton dates). I'm putting in my 2 cents about milk. I know a lot of you cringe at the thought of skim milk, but I grew up on it and am fine with it. In addition to being healthier, it also lasts nearly forever. The part of milk that goes bad in short order is the fat. When there's no fat content, the taste (it does, too, have a taste!) remains unchanged for well over a month past the "expiration" date.


I grew up with milk from Ruby our cow. Drink skim now. Didn’t know that it lasted so long. There were times I’ve stood in front of fridge guzzling milk till I thought I’d bust just so it wouldn’t go to waste if it expired the next day.


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## Nik333

surferdude2 said:


> Here are seven specific food items you should never eat past the expiration date.
> 
> *1. Deli Meat
> 2. Eggs
> 3. Fresh Berries
> 4. Mixed Greens
> 5. Raw Seafood
> 6. Raw Meat
> 7. Soft Cheese*
> 
> Copied from HERE  where there is more information on each item.


Some bacteria can grow in the refrigerator.

Heating bacteria may kill it but the toxin they produce may stay.


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## KaseyW

Startingover said:


> I grew up with milk from Ruby our cow. Drink skim now. Didn’t know that it lasted so long. There were times I’ve stood in front of fridge guzzling milk till I thought I’d bust just so it wouldn’t go to waste if it expired the next day.


ROFL Startingover! You must be related to my Dad. NOTHING is EVER allowed to go to waste! My methods for testing milk are: 1] smell it and 2] look at it. #1 is obvious. For #2, once skim milk has finally reached the end of its life, it starts to develop small streaks. And if you forget and leave a quart in the back, behind the water jug for a few months, it eventually turns to curds and whey.


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## Nik333

Startingover said:


> I grew up with milk from Ruby our cow. Drink skim now. Didn’t know that it lasted so long. There were times I’ve stood in front of fridge guzzling milk till I thought I’d bust just so it wouldn’t go to waste if it expired the next day.


If you heat it when you get worried, it will last longer. 180 degrees for 10 min. 
Look up making yogurt? It's super easy. Fresh yogurt is wonderful!


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## KaseyW

Nik333 said:


> Some bacteria can grow in the refrigerator.


I agree that bacteria can grow happily in the fridge and I toss anything old that isn't going to be cooked. But bacteria die once temps exceed 140 degrees, so I question whether eggs and raw meat should be grouped with the other items.


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## Nik333

KaseyW said:


> I agree that bacteria can grow happily in the fridge and I toss anything old that isn't going to be cooked. But bacteria die once temps exceed 140 degrees, so I question whether eggs and raw meat should be grouped with the other items.


Look up Food-Borne infections and toxins

I understand going over-board. I had a friend who would not eat older mushrooms that were just starting to go slimy in the refirgerator, even if cooked. He just had a thing about it. I felt they were perfectly safe if washed & cooked.

Then there are Prions.

"Can Prions be Destroyed? Prions are very hearty proteins. ... To destroy a prion it must be denatured to the point that it can no longer cause normal proteins to misfold. Sustained heat for several hours at extremely high temperatures (900°F and above) will reliably destroy a prion."
What are Prions? | Virginia DWR
dwr.virginia.gov › wildlife › diseases › cwd › what-are-pr..

I just had this discussion with a woman in the Walmart parking lot. Her mom had Stage IV cancer, was on chemo and was craving her native home's ox-tail soup. Filipina. Ox-tails contain spinal cord & there is a risk of Mad Cow Disease. Probably a very small risk. But, you never know.

Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease is 1 in a million, yet, I've had 2 patients with it.

I do used slightly spoiled milk or "clabbered" in cooking. After all
it's acid & acid is a preservative. Acid, salt & sugar are some.


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## surferdude2

KaseyW said:


> I know a lot of you cringe at the thought of skim milk, but I grew up on it and am fine with it. In addition to being healthier, it also lasts nearly forever.


They'd cringe even more if they ever stayed a few days at my grandma Inez's house. She always said "the milk's a little blinky but good enough for makin' biscuits or cornbread." She kept the skimmed milk on the bottom shelf of a wooden kitchen cabinet... no refrigerator... no ice box... in the summer, the butter was put in a tin pail and hung in the well just above the water. In the winter, they had a "window box" on the north side of the kitchen that served them well.


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## Nik333

surferdude2 said:


> They'd cringe even more if they ever stayed a few days at my grandma Inez's house. She always said "the milk's a little blinky but good enough for makin' biscuits or cornbread." She kept the skimmed milk on the bottom shelf of a wooden kitchen cabinet... no refrigerator... no ice box... in the summer, the butter was put in a tin pail and hung in the well just above the water. In the winter, they had a "window box" on the north side of the kitchen that served them well.


I swear we're related. You even look like the Boggs. Inez was a name in our family.

Coonrod Eagle 😄


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## Startingover

surferdude2 said:


> They'd cringe even more if they ever stayed a few days at my grandma Inez's house. She always said "the milk's a little blinky but good enough for makin' biscuits or cornbread." She kept the skimmed milk on the bottom shelf of a wooden kitchen cabinet... no refrigerator... no ice box... in the summer, the butter was put in a tin pail and hung in the well just above the water. In the winter, they had a "window box" on the north side of the kitchen that served them well.


“Milks a little blinky”. Thats so cute and funny.


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## Blockisle9

When in doubt, throw it out!!!


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## surferdude2

Nik333 said:


> I swear we're related. You even look like the Boggs. Inez was a name in our family.
> 
> Coonrod Eagle 😄



























Nope, I don't find any connection to Mr. Conrad Eagle even though we had the same tailor and interior decorator.


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## surferdude2

Blockisle9 said:


> When in doubt, throw it out!!!


 And if it's blinky, make corn bread or biscuits! You have to be country raised to know the difference between blinky milk and blue john and clabbered milk. Google may not even have all the answers about that and it's too late to ask Inez.


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## Nik333

surferdude2 said:


> View attachment 634821
> 
> View attachment 634820
> View attachment 634819
> 
> 
> Nope, I don't find any connection to Mr. Conrad Eagle even though we had the same tailor and interior decorator.


I'm not a descendant. I think he was a Great Great Uncle. I like the photo. Especially his boots.


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## Nik333

I'LL BE A SUCK-EGG MULE: BLUE JOHN IS BLINKY


I'm fixing to tell you what blue john and blinky are. But then I repeat myself.




greensboro.com













Why Milk Is White


Learn how milk's chemical composition and particle size affects its color. Find out why whole milk is white and skim milk is blue.




www.thoughtco.com


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## surferdude2

It's my understanding that he was a mail carrier back when they rode horses, especially in rural areas. To get back on subject, I think he drank lots of blue john and maybe a nip of Jack occasionally.


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## Startingover

surferdude2 said:


> It's my understanding that he was a mail carrier back when they rode horses, especially in rural areas. To get back on subject, I think he drank lots of blue john and maybe a nip of Jack occasionally.
> 
> View attachment 634831


Thanks, saved me looking it up.


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## Nik333

That would be a great photo to draw & use pastels on. Thanks, I saw it the other day, but not blown up. I get lost in the 15 kids & 13 kids & 11 kids. . .

I could use some of them tough uncles around!

They had tough guys & pretty woman. His kin, an Inez. -
I'm not a descendant, just kin.


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## Old Thomas

My brother’s family ate expired food and left meat out on the countertop to thaw in Florida. They were constantly having some kind of “stomach bug” or diarrhea. We are very careful about food safety almost to the level of going too far but we very rarely have stomach ailments or gastronomic indignities.


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## Startingover

Old Thomas said:


> My brother’s family ate expired food and left meat out on the countertop to thaw in Florida. They were constantly having some kind of “stomach bug” or diarrhea. We are very careful about food safety almost to the level of going too far but we very rarely have stomach ailments or gastronomic indignities.


I Never heard the word salmonella when I was young.


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## surferdude2

I imagine I would find plenty of health code violations if I could return to the past and watch how things were done as I was growing up. Having no hot & cold running water in the house made hand washing less frequent, to say the least. Handling raw food such as wringing the head off a chicken, scalding it and picking the feathers off, holding it over a fire to burn off the pin feathers, gutting it and cutting it into 13 pieces (2-thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2-side breasts, 1-center breast, 2-wings, 2-legs (aka scratchers), 1-neck and a back. Depending on the circumstances, the neck, back and scratchers were not eaten but given to the dog. I know they say chicken bones should never be given to a dog but ol' Speedy didn't have any problem with them.

During all that prep and slaughtering, the hands may or may not have gotten washed but often just got wiped on the apron. We survived somehow!

We all drank from the same dipper too, both at home and school. Below are pics from a book I have that describes one of the schools I attended. My grandfather attended this school also. The "New Bradford School" building it pictures has since been torn down.  Soy beans grow on that site now.


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## Nik333

I'm just guessing, but, I think we can be used to certain bugs more than other people. Like Mexicans & Montezuma's Revenge.
When my dad had a job in Hong Kong, & we moved there , where there were a lot of refugees, I was sick, sick, sick, even skinny for 2 yrs. Even caught worms! 😄 At least we didn't catch the rampant Cholera, TB & Typhoid. People spat all the time.
Startingover is probably saying "Eeewh!" My mom was a nurse so she boiled all drinking water. Everyone had a cook & she tried hard to train him to wash greens & keep raw food away from cooked in the fridge, but, he would still store his family's greens next to ours. He bought our food from the "*******" that hawked food along the road. She changed it to a food order from a reputable company. She had us wear cloth gloves when we were in town.

Most 24hr Flu is actually Food Poisoning.


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## de-nagorg

@surferdude2:

You forgot the best parts of the chicken, The Gizzard, heart and liver.

I can still close my eye and remember the slaughter, cleaning, and cutting up process.

One time, one old rooster got away, after his head was Wrung, and ran under the clothesline with fresh clean sheets, it squirted blood all over them.

Had to re-wash them.

The plucking, the dunking them in a barrel of boiling water, to pop those pin feathers out.
The guttin, then the carving up.

This process took a while, as we did 25 or more at a time, and froze the most of them, for Sunday dinners. 

Grandmother used the neck, as a soup starter, chicken stock thing, and canned the juice, and tossed the crumbly remains. 

I could still cut a whole store bought on up, if I had too, but like most people, I prefer one piece over the other, and but the store cut section.


Sure miss them Gizzards though.

ED


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## surferdude2

de-nagorg said:


> You forgot the best parts of the chicken, The Gizzard, heart and liver.


I liked the liver... in fact one of the bars I used to frequent back in the day often held a chicken liver fry in place of their Sunday fish fry occasionally.

You're right, all those innards got cooked but often nobody ate them. Speedy likely appreciated that.

I tried a gizzard a time or two but can't say I liked it... same for the heart... probably a psychological thing. Same goes for those pig brains and head cheese they make from the pigs head. I'd have to starve.

Sometimes the best part of a meal would be the mashed potatoes with that "rough" gravy make with bacon fat and the skillet cracklins. Aaah the good ol' cholesterol laden days.

We had no idea we were living in hard times since everyone else was too and it didn't help to dwell on it. All put together in one bundle, it was a great life!


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## surferdude2

One of the hard/fast rules at most houses that had a drinkin' water pail with a dipper in it was that you drink every ounce of what you dipped out. Putting back any slobbers was severely frowned upon. That sure was a great sanitation rule... those germs knew better than to hang on to that dipper when it got drank all the way dry. Germs were just more cooperative back then.


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## stanstr

Recently, (in the LA Times): How did a 3-year-old pizza get delivered by Instacart? (From a Beverly Hills Ralphs)...
"Like many of us, Agneta Yilmaz has turned to Instacart to handle her shopping during the pandemic. She’s trusted the company to deliver fresh groceries from a nearby Ralphs supermarket and, generally speaking, she’s been pleased with the service.

So when the Beverly Hills resident recently opened a box of Celeste frozen pepperoni pizza for her 4-year-old granddaughter, she was shocked to discover it was completely brown and smelled, as Yilmaz put it, “like when you go to the bathroom.”

Yilmaz, 78, told me she immediately checked the expiration date on the box. It said, “Recommended use by Dec-12-17."

Which is to say...







Click link above for the rest of it, or Google Instacart 3-year-old pizza to get this elsewhere.


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## stanstr

Recently, (in the LA Times): How did a 3-year-old pizza get delivered by Instacart? (From a Beverly Hills Ralphs)...
"Like many of us, Agneta Yilmaz has turned to Instacart to handle her shopping during the pandemic. She’s trusted the company to deliver fresh groceries from a nearby Ralphs supermarket and, generally speaking, she’s been pleased with the service.

So when the Beverly Hills resident recently opened a box of Celeste frozen pepperoni pizza for her 4-year-old granddaughter, she was shocked to discover it was completely brown and smelled, as Yilmaz put it, “like when you go to the bathroom.”

Yilmaz, 78, told me she immediately checked the expiration date on the box. It said, “Recommended use by Dec-12-17."

Which is to say...







Click link above for the rest of it, or Google Instacart 3-year-old pizza to get this elsewhere.


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## Colbyt

@*surferdude2*

I can still picture those dancing chickens after the wringing. Sounds like we had a similar early childhood.


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## KaseyW

I may very well be spouting nonsense here, but I have a theory that a person's immune system is something like a muscle in that, if you exercise it, it gets stronger. I was born in the post-war baby boom. I had every childhood disease. While Mom kept our home "clean" it certainly wasn't sterile, and both my brothers and I have always been reasonable but not fanatical about the definition of clean. To this day, none of us suffer from frequent illnesses and, if I do catch a cold, my symptoms are usually milder than others. Maybe we just inherited good genes, but I'm concerned that the current practice of trying to protect ourselves and our kids from every vagrant microbe is causing them to grow up with weak and ineffective immune systems. Okay ... go ahead and laugh me out of the discussion; I'm braced.😉


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## Nik333

@KaseyW, there is research that shows less allergy in kids who don't grow up in a spotless home.


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## wooleybooger

KaseyW said:


> I may very well be spouting nonsense here, but I have a theory that a person's immune system is something like a muscle in that, if you exercise it, it gets stronger. I was born in the post-war baby boom. I had every childhood disease. While Mom kept our home "clean" it certainly wasn't sterile, and both my brothers and I have always been reasonable but not fanatical about the definition of clean. To this day, none of us suffer from frequent illnesses and, if I do catch a cold, my symptoms are usually milder than others. Maybe we just inherited good genes, but I'm concerned that the current practice of trying to protect ourselves and our kids from every vagrant microbe is causing them to grow up with weak and ineffective immune systems. Okay ... go ahead and laugh me out of the discussion; I'm braced.😉


Not laughing. I had all the childhood diseases also. Seldom got sick with cold or flu later. None at all since I quit smoking 15 years ago.


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## mark sr

surferdude2 said:


> One of the hard/fast rules at most houses that had a drinkin' water pail with a dipper in it was that you drink every ounce of what you dipped out. Putting back any slobbers was severely frowned upon


any leftover water in the dipper is supposed to be tossed into the wash bowl that often set next to the water bucket


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## Mike Milam

We had a chicken coop in our back yard when we were kids. And, we lived in the inner city. Against code now I suspect. I used to get called on to get a couple chickens for dinner. I can picture it now, we had an old broken wooden ladder next to the coop and I would grab the chicken by the head and hold it over the ladder and wack it's head off with a hatchet. It would take off running as I recall 15 to 20 feet before falling down. My sister always left the yard before hand because once when one took off it really looked like it was chasing her. Every turn she made, it made.


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## Drachenfire

The thing some people do not pay attention to is "sell by" vs "use by" dates. They are not the same. Sell by is usually used on cold cuts. Pre-packaged cold cuts should last 10 days past their sell by date opened or not. This is not to be confused with fresh deli meats which have a shorter shelf life of about 5-6 days. Cold cuts can last for up to 8 months when they are placed in the freezer. 

I generally use the smell test, if it smells bad, it goes in the trash bag.

Use by dates normally refer to when the package are opened. With some exceptions most products in sealed packages are useable well past their use by date.


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## ZTMAN

When I was reading this thread last night I was thinking about the canned goods in the pantry at our camp that seldom get used. Was up there today and found cans with expiration dates 15 years ago. I think they will make their way to the burn barrel.


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## Mike Milam

ZTMAN said:


> When I was reading this thread last night I was thinking about the canned goods in the pantry at our camp that seldom get used. Was up there today and found cans with expiration dates 15 years ago. I think they will make their way to the burn barrel.


Wow! Umm yeah.

When we moved my mom-in-law in with us 6 years ago, I had a dumpster brought in and dropped in her driveway. I summoned the wife's siblings in to go through her belongings to see if there was anything they wanted with the understanding that by dark that day EVERYTHING in her house would be in that dumpster. None of her furniture was newer than 30 years and was inexpensive when new. She was a hoarder and a terrible housekeeper. I wouldn't eat or drink anything when I was there.
When we emptied her cabinets we found can goods that were 15 or 20 years old. Every cabinet, when you opened the door was flush with the face frame top to bottom. Two of her bedroom closets had can goods 2 feet deep in the bottom. She was a depression kid.

6PM that day the house was empty and the dumpster was full to the top.


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## de-nagorg

ZTMAN said:


> When I was reading this thread last night I was thinking about the canned goods in the pantry at our camp that seldom get used. Was up there today and found cans with expiration dates 15 years ago. I think they will make their way to the burn barrel.


Do not, I repeat DO NOT, put these in the burn barrel, unopened.

You are making a bomb that will set the surrounding area ablaze.

I speak from experience, At one time as a youth, I was heating a can of chili, in a campfire, I left it too long, and got a chili coating, all over myself.

Had to go to the creek, strip, and bathe in the moonlight. 

Those canned foods explode with much force.


ED


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## KaseyW

Mike Milam said:


> Every cabinet, when you opened the door was flush with the face frame top to bottom. Two of her bedroom closets had can goods 2 feet deep in the bottom. She was a depression kid.


Mike, My Dad, too, was a depression kid. And you've pretty accurately described his house. I'm pretty sure that, when you spend several of your formative years living is a "house" with no electricity or running water (the landlord was happy because the house was protected from vandals), your brain becomes hardwired to save anything that could conceivably prove useful someday. The unfortunate thing is that, growing up in a home where that was a rule, I have a pretty difficult time throwing away plastic lids that I might want to put under flower pots, and empty pill bottles that I can use someday when I finally sort out the world's largest collection of miscellaneous nuts, bolts, nails, screws and washers.🙃


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## Mike Milam

KaseyW said:


> Mike, My Dad, too, was a depression kid. And you've pretty accurately described his house. I'm pretty sure that, when you spend several of your formative years living is a "house" with no electricity or running water (the landlord was happy because the house was protected from vandals), your brain becomes hardwired to save anything that could conceivably prove useful someday. The unfortunate thing is that, growing up in a home where that was a rule, I have a pretty difficult time throwing away plastic lids that I might want to put under flower pots, and empty pill bottles that I can use someday when I finally sort out the world's largest collection of miscellaneous nuts, bolts, nails, screws and washers.🙃


I had to laugh out loud a little reading this. I have one big tool box drawer full of screws nuts and bolts. Probably no two the same.


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## de-nagorg

Mike Milam said:


> I had to laugh out loud a little reading this. I have one big tool box drawer full of screws nuts and bolts. Probably no two the same.


I have a steel 5 gallon pail full. 

Remember when grease came in them?

And speaking of lids under flowerpots, I use the Aluminum pie tins, that store bought pies come in.


ED


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## ZTMAN

de-nagorg said:


> Do not, I repeat DO NOT, put these in the burn barrel, unopened.
> 
> You are making a bomb that will set the surrounding area ablaze.
> 
> I speak from experience, At one time as a youth, I was heating a can of chili, in a campfire, I left it too long, and got a chili coating, all over myself.
> 
> Had to go to the creek, strip, and bathe in the moonlight.
> 
> Those canned foods explode with much force.
> 
> 
> ED


I don't like bombs Ed. We open the cans if no one wants to take target practice. I seen cans explode and it is not pretty


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## KaseyW

de-nagorg said:


> And speaking of lids under flowerpots, I use the Aluminum pie tins, that store bought pies come in.
> ED


I tried that Ed but the water that I was forced to hook up to, is so bad that, over time, it eats aluminum. I try not to picture what it's doing to my innards.😳


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## Mike Milam

KaseyW said:


> I tried that Ed but the water that I was forced to hook up to, is so bad that, over time, it eats aluminum. I try not to picture what it's doing to my innards.😳


How about the plastic plates and lids restaurants use for carry out?


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## KaseyW

Mike Milam said:


> How about the plastic plates and lids restaurants use for carry out?


I wouldn't know. I live in The Boondocks, too far from any restaurants to be worth it to order carry out.


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## Mike Milam

KaseyW said:


> I wouldn't know. I live in The Boondocks, too far from any restaurants to be worth it to order carry out.


That's not a bad thing.


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## KaseyW

Mike Milam said:


> That's not a bad thing.


Not at all. Having lived just outside of Washington, D.C. until I was in my 20's, I totally appreciate fresh air, little traffic, and being able to afford a decent house.


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## de-nagorg

KaseyW said:


> I tried that Ed but the water that I was forced to hook up to, is so bad that, over time, it eats aluminum. I try not to picture what it's doing to my innards.😳


Maybe try a water filter system for your drinking and cooking water.

Beats worrying about ulcerated guts. Or kidney stones.

I too live 10 miles away from a major city ( for Wyoming), and am far enough out that traffic, crime, and noise is nothing.


ED


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## Old Thomas

ZTMAN said:


> I don't like bombs Ed. We open the cans if no one wants to take target practice. I seen cans explode and it is not pretty


A long time ago I tossed a full can of carburetor cleaner in the burning barrel. It made the best mushroom cloud I ever created. I thought I had figured out how to split an atom.


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## Nik333

Gizzards are sold in a large amount in the chicken section of most good sized grocery stores. They're in a package next to the chicken livers. They're a treat for pets, too.
I like Turkey dressing *with* giblets.


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## Nik333

KaseyW said:


> I tried that Ed but the water that I was forced to hook up to, is so bad that, over time, it eats aluminum. I try not to picture what it's doing to my innards.😳


I lost two cats while I lived in a farmhouse on an almond orchard. There were all kinds of problems with the well. One had a Retinal Detachment from high blood pressure. He would walk around crying because he couldn't see. I regret not getting bottled water more quickly & not closing the lid on the toilet seat. ( So pets couldn't drink out of it.) I eventually got Arrowhead bottled water because of E.Coli in the water, but, I wish I had done it more quickly. It was a rental and I didn't control the well activities.


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