Expiration dates..

Okay. I'm not sure if I've noticed this because it's a thing...or because I am eating at home more often.

BUT I feel like food expires here WAY earlier than it does in the States. I'll buy some food and like 4 days later it's expired whereas in the US that same food would last for weeks.

Is it the things the US puts in food that does that? Or am I just crazy?

You’re not crazy. I believe the US puts a lot more preservatives in their food than Europe.

The EU has much stricter standards and regulations on food than the US does, and several additives and preservatives that are used in US food production are banned in Europe (and other countries).

For example:
http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com/vegan-whole-food/foods-banned-in-other-countries-but-we-eat-in-us.php


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You’re not crazy. I believe the US puts a lot more preservatives in their food than Europe.

The EU has much stricter standards and regulations on food than the US does, and several additives and preservatives that are used in US food production are banned in Europe (and other countries).

For example:
http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com/vegan-whole-food/foods-banned-in-other-countries-but-we-eat-in-us.php


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I knew it!

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But I also find those best before and expiry dates are very conservative. My dairy lasts way longer than marked... sometimes a week or more.

Everything here gets the smell and look test before I chuck it in the bin. I never go by expiry dates here.

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But I also find those best before and expiry dates are very conservative. My dairy lasts way longer than marked... sometimes a week or more.

Everything here gets the smell and look test before I chuck it in the bin. I never go by expiry dates here.

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I usually do go by the expiry date for things like meat and dairy, but having spent 3 months in Antarctica where a fair amount of the food was several months out of date (and almost a year in the Falklands where half of the supermarket stock is out of date), I am a bit more lenient with it now - in Antarctica last year, I was eating Marmite that was more than a year out of date, and I even had part of a Dairy Milk bar that expired in 2004!


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I've noticed that too, @TeamTollie! My husband is super strict about throwing things out. I generally think if it still looks, feel, and smells okay then it probably is okay. I think you just have to use your best judgment. But I have always thought the food here tastes fresher and cleaner. I welcome that change in my life!

I've noticed that too, @TeamTollie! My husband is super strict about throwing things out. I generally think if it still looks, feel, and smells okay then it probably is okay. I think you just have to use your best judgment. But I have always thought the food here tastes fresher and cleaner. I welcome that change in my life!

Me too! I feel like our clotted cream is 5 days out of date but smells and looks fine....but it's also dairy....!

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I've noticed that too, @TeamTollie! My husband is super strict about throwing things out. I generally think if it still looks, feel, and smells okay then it probably is okay. I think you just have to use your best judgment. But I have always thought the food here tastes fresher and cleaner. I welcome that change in my life!

My husband was super strict too but I've worn him down. I've taught him things don't magically go bad at midnight. 

I've taught him how to check if something is still good. If he isn't sure, he will ask me.

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Me too! I feel like our clotted cream is 5 days out of date but smells and looks fine....but it's also dairy....!

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Clotted cream lasts ages. My last one was more than a month expired, unopened though, and it was still good.

You will know when dairy has gone bad.

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Clotted cream lasts ages. My last one was more than a month expired, unopened though, and it was still good.

You will know when dairy has gone bad.

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Oh yes ...when I was a kid I accidentally left milk behind a photo frame on my bed stand. It happened quick

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Me too! I feel like our clotted cream is 5 days out of date but smells and looks fine....but it's also dairy....!

But usually with dairy, if it's bad, you can smell it immediately... I'd still trust it... especially if it hasn't been opened yet. 

My husband was super strict too but I've worn him down. I've taught him things don't magically go bad at midnight. 

I've taught him how to check if something is still good. If he isn't sure, he will ask me.

Ha ha! Same. My husband has yet to get sick from anything I've prepared for him so I think he's come to trust my judgment. LOL!

But usually with dairy, if it's bad, you can smell it immediately... I'd still trust it... especially if it hasn't been opened yet. 

Ha ha! Same. My husband has yet to get sick from anything I've prepared for him so I think he's come to trust my judgment. LOL!

Mine has actually said, "You've not made me sick yet so I trust your judgement".

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Mine has actually said, "You've not made me sick yet so I trust your judgement".

He he he! All that matters!

But I also find those best before and expiry dates are very conservative. My dairy lasts way longer than marked... sometimes a week or more.

Everything here gets the smell and look test before I chuck it in the bin. I never go by expiry dates here.

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Bread, though, goes off (for us) pretty soon after the "use by" date. We get about five days, max, before little blue mold appears.

Oh. I heard they are finally going to add folic acid to baking flour/bread. (Good idea - neural tube defects in babies are caused by a lack of folic acid in a pregnant woman's diet). Now if they'd just put vitamin D in the milk.... 

Oh. I heard they are finally going to add folic acid to baking flour/bread. (Good idea - neural tube defects in babies are caused by a lack of folic acid in a pregnant woman's diet). Now if they'd just put vitamin D in the milk.... 

It's bad for the many people who have MTHFR mutations (also causes neural tube defects) who can't convert folic acid to folate. With more genetic testing they're finding a higher prevalence of people with those mutations. Hopefully organic flours will remain without it!

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