I'd rather be safe than sorry. The risk of illness isn't worth saving a few pounds, in my opinion.
But I think I'm the exception as when I'm in shops I always seem to be the only person who checks expiration dates on things. I always look in the back of the shelf for the items with the latest expiration date, and if I can't find any that won't expire before it can be completely eaten, I won't buy any. Everyone else seems to grab the items at the front, without even looking at the date.
There were some shops near me in the US that did sell things past the expiration date, so it really was important to look.
