Expired food: how best-before dates create a waste mountain

Re:Expired food: how best-before dates create a waste mountain by DanBC on Friday April 19, 2019 @04:22AM (#19697905)

It's a bit worrying to see people repeat the incorrect "you can smell it if it's risky" advice.

You will be able to smell if food is rotting. USE BY dates aren't just about rotting though, they take into account commonly found bacteria in different food, and correct storage.

You won't be able to smell most types of food poisoning bacteria, and the risk of poisoning goes up after the use by date.

https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/best-before-and-use-b...

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Re:Expired food: how best-before dates create a waste mountain by londons_explore on Friday April 19, 2019 @04:56AM (#19698027)

Also, the uses of preservatives, refrigeration and antibacterial agents means that the way food goes bad today is very different than the way food went bad when our noses evolved.

For example, flies circling round meat would make most people instinctively think twice before eating it. In most environments, they will appear within a few hours of the creature dying. In your fridge, the flies won't hatch, taking away a vital signal marking the age of the food.

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