Sell by, best before, use by

Generally I'll go for it. Having worked with food before I know that a lot of these are just guidelines where the manufacturer has to err on the side of caution.

I drew the line at he jar of marmalade my mother-in-law gave us a couple of weeks ago that was three years out of date though. I would happily eat my gran's home made jam that was made eight years ago (and have on many occasions) but I never know how well those preservatives actually work compared to my gran's tried and trusted home made recipe.

Mind you, come to think of it... maybe my mother-in-law was trying to kill me off.....

Eggs are easy, put them in water, if they sink they're ok, if they float they're off, anything in between and you take your chance.

I was brought up before 'sell by' dates entered the high street and survived quite well but then we shopped differently then as it was easy pop to the local shops but I always remember going to the farm and buying eggs for my mum 3 dozen at a time.

For clarity, it is illegal to sell goods past their "sell by" or "use by" dates but goods with a "best before" date can be sold and eaten after this date.

You beat me to the sinking egg tip. In the past you used to be able to get reasonable discounts in Tesco for food items about to go past their "sell by" or "use by" dates, but now they seem to just knock off a few pence. Has anybody else noticed this? They still use big yellow stickers to make you think you are getting a good deal.

Tony

Tesco have to be my biggest pet hate, they are without doubt the greediest of the supermarkets and I wonder how many people actually compare the prices of stuff not on offer, like jars of jam 50p dearer than Asda - yes that was 50p on a jar of jam!!!!!

I went in on Tuesday and they had an offer on Jersey potatoes buy 1kg get 500g free but I couldn't find the free ones, I had a member of staff search and they found them hidden under another crate, when I got to the till they didn't go through free and when I got to customer services, she said they didn't have any, she was quite amazed when I produced them from my shopping and she had to give me £3.00 back!!! Nice try though Tesco, I have no doubt the offer was about to end.

I think a whole load of food is wasted unecessarily because of the sell-by-date having gone past. Obviously eggs, meat and fish are a bit more sensitive to aging but loads of other stuff should be fine. I think we're all slightly over sensitive although I have to confess even I got a shock when I cleaned my fridge the other day!

Nothing like finding that last little block of cheese that you didn't realise had been pushed to the back for the fridge....

Worst is when it liquidises and goes all over your hands when you pull it out from the back of the fridge....

It all seems to work towards de-skilling the population. We have been stripped of personal responsibility over the years in too many areas. With most food, it is easy to tell whether something is 'off' - smell and texture are powerful indicators and a teeny taste is unlikely to hospitalise you even if something is on the turn. I suppose what I have said applies more to natural stuff that ready-mades - all the more reason to cook from scratch! If we aren't responsible for what we ingest then what are we responsible for??