Hey, you’re just about to eat it and then you see that it’s expired. What do you do, do you throw it away immediately? It’s a shame, because you can still eat many products even though the expiration date has passed. Curious about which things you can still enjoy? Then read on quickly, because you can still eat these things.
Products that are still fine to eat after their expiration date
According to the Nutrition Center, we throw away 40 million kilos of food per person per year. Together that amounts to 800 million every year. That is 100,000 garbage trucks full, which costs us more than 155 euros per person. Ehm, that’s a lot! But did you know that we can often still eat this food and drink? There are surprising products that you can still use after their expiration date. How about milk and eggs, for example?
Important labels of products
Packages may contain two different labels; the best before date (THT) and the best before date (use by date). It’s important to pay close attention to these because they make a huge difference. The best before label is used for food that hardly spoils, such as flour. After the date, their quality deteriorates, but you can eat them for a long time afterwards.
You have to be careful with the TGT label. This applies to highly perishable products such as meat. After this date, throw away the product, because it is no longer safe to eat. The day of the expiration date is the last day on which you can eat it. Even if it says that you can keep it in the refrigerator for a week.
You should never eat meat after the expiration date, regardless of the label. Chicken and pork in particular are a large source of bacteria and regularly lead to food poisoning.
Tip: food lasts longer in these special storage boxes!
Twelve things left to eat
You can still eat these things after the expiration date:
Milk: you can keep pasteurized milk up to 50% longer if you cool it colder. Preferably put the milk at the back of the cooler instead of at the front. You can still make pancakes from milk that has become a little sour. The bacteria die due to the hot temperatures.
Eggs: Surprisingly, eggs can still be used after their expiration date. If you refrigerate them at temperatures of five degrees or lower, they can last four to five weeks. You can then use them when you cook them. For example, a hard-boiled egg in your salad. They should not be eaten as scrambled eggs, soft-boiled, poached or fried. Then they are already too far gone.
Sugar: anything with a high sugar content can still be eaten. Sugar is a preservative. Fruit cake, jam, honey and fudge and other foods with a lot of this sweetener can still be enjoyed for some time. Sugar itself never expires.
German sauerkraut and Korean kimchi: These are still safe to eat because they are foods that have been pickled, salted or dried.
Chips: Although chippies become soft after the expiration date, they are still good. This is because they have been so processed and because liters of salt have been added to them.
Biscuits: the same applies to these as for chips; Because they are processed in this way, they can last forever. If they have become soft or mushy, you can put them in the oven and they will become nice and crunchy again.
Dried pasta: Keeps well until the end of time if properly packaged in airtight containers. This applies to all dried products.
Bread: in the freezer you can survive a second ice age with bread. If there is a little mold on it, you can simply cut it off. – Please note that there is conflicting advice here, including that of the Nutrition Center. They write that moldy bread is no longer edible in its entirety, because micro-organisms are present throughout the product and have spoiled it.
Canned food: canned food lasts a very long time, but if you also store it in a dark, cold place, it will last a very long time.
Packaged salad: we often don’t want to eat our salad anymore because the leaves look so sad. However, you can still eat it as long as there is no mold on it. You can make wilted leaves taste good again by soaking them in cold water.
Chocolate: we often look in despair at chocolate that has been given a white layer. Would it still be good? Sure! Chocolate does not simply expire. The layer is because the chocolate has been exposed to the air, causing the fat to melt and float to the surface.
Hard cheese: cheese such as cheddar cheese can still be eaten if you cut off the hard outside. The same does not apply to soft cheeses, such as brie and camembert. If they have lost their freshness, harmful bacteria will grow in them.
