… for ‘use by’ dates?
I have found a packet of Cumberland Sausages that had slithered to the back of my 'fridge. Should have been used by 9th August. They looked and, more importantly, smelled wholesome - so I am cooking them - slowly and thoroughly for lunch. Will have them with carrot and potato mash, sweetcorn, and onion/tomato gravy.
Not sure I’d risk that far of a use by date. (Guess there is some leeway on those dates)
But have if it’s only a day or two.
I’m a bit of a stickler for ‘best by’ dates having had food poisoning when I was 22…
Nope. I wouldn’t. Not with meat. If the dates up, in the bin it goes. Not eating meat nowadays anyways, since the chicken I ate a few months ago didn’t touch the sides 
I’m not sure I’d use a meat product that far out of date @SilverTabby. A couple of days maybe, but 6 days is pushing it for me! With eggs I always do the water test and as long as they don’t float I’ll use them in cooking. If they’re several days over, then I wouldn’t just cook them as is, i.e. poached, scrambled or boiled, but fine in a cake or pudding. With non meat/fish products I just use the sniff test, easy enough to see if something’s OK to use.
I completely ignore ‘best before’ dates, they’re simply not important and only refer to, e.g. taste and texture, i.e. they’re not at their best after the date.
I’m not a stickler at all, I use my common sense when I see that something is past the ‘use by’ date. If it looks OK and smells OK then I use it! When I was a child we didn’t have 'fridges or ‘use by’ dates and I learned from my Mother how to decide whether something was alright to eat and I’ve not poisoned myself … yet! The common sense approach seems to have been lost in the mists of time I think.
ST…I only go a day over on a sell by date.
Agree with the best before dates. They are a guide as to when it’s most likely to be fresh and not a hazard warning.
My wife’s an absolute stickler. It’s almost as though she’s waits until 11:59 changes to 12:00 and then off to the bin the offending item goes.
I am a stickler about time…if I have an appointment I always get there 10 minutes early. If people/relatives promise to meet me somewhere and are late for no real reason then I go ballistic. 
I spent my early years on a croft which had no electricity, so no fridges or freezers. A grocers van came round once a week. No ‘use by’ dates in them days. Our milk was used straight from the cow without any treatment. Our water was pumped from a well. I try to use stuff before the use by date but not always. Depends on what it is.
Using food by sell by date… It really depends on what it is, some food items keep for ages in a fridge some don’t. I check the packet & if it’s only a couple of days over, hasn’t been opened, then I sniff it once opened, if it smells & looks ok I cooks it. If it is way over date it goes in the bin. You really do have to check food packets etc when you buy in supermarkets/shops. I mostly rummage for longer dates among the stock & find the longest. Some times if the store has out of date food on the shelves, I tell them in no uncertain terms. 
Best Before and Use Before dates to me are just CMA/PMA statements put there because some idiot hadn’t the common sense to chuck rotten food out, got food poisoning as a result and blamed the supermarket they bought it from. If it doesn’t smell right, look right or taste right then it ain’t right, otherwise get it down your neck I say. Would you throw away a lump of Cheddar cheese if its crust had gone green but the rest of it was OK to eat? Or would you cut of the green bits and eat the rest? I know what I’d do and it would be throwing good cheese away.
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Oooopps. I know what I’d do and it WOULDN’T be throwing good cheese away.
Thanks Dex.
Well … I’m still here! They were only supermarket sausages anyway - so probably had more cereal than meat. Cooked all six of them - had three with my meal yesterday and the other three, chopped up with tomato and scallions, in an omelette for breakfast this morning. Tasty - but would probably not buy them again. Prefer proper ones from my butcher or to make my own.
