The Expired Food You’re Probably Eating Every Day
Many of us will have undoubtedly eaten foods that we know we should not have when they should have been used long before. But from time to time we will do it unintentionally as it is often complicated to work out what items need to be thrown away, particularly if food still seems like it would be fine to eat.
In many instances, eating food a few days past its best will not always lead to harm. However, if you are unclear about whether a food looks safe to eat, then you perhaps should be cautious about eating it. Below is a list of the expired food you’re probably eating every day that you do not even realize.
Hot Dogs
Processed meats frequently have a much longer shelf-life. If the package is left unopened then hot dogs will continue to stay good for a couple weeks in your refrigerator. However as soon as you open them up you have less than a week to eat them, unless you cook them, which will again give you an extra week. It is very easy to eat processed meat once it has expired. Hot dogs are not on their own on this list of processed meats that you could be eating past their expiry date.
Hard Cheeses
Many people do eat hard cheeses even after the expiration date, and some people even eat cheese even after the discovery of mold. While it is vital to ensure that you cut away moldy bits before eating cheese found in this way, it might be a good idea to avoid it altogether. The block of cheese ought to be safe to eat when you find it like this, but you do need to consider just how long a hard cheese will stay safe to eat. Hard cheeses are usually good in your refrigerator for up to a month.
Deli Meat
Often you think that the plastic packaging is helping to keep your deli meat fresh, but it is true to suggest that the moment the slices are taken from the deli counter they begin to decline. Most sliced meats should be eaten within three days otherwise you are going to be eating expired food. There are some obvious signs that your deli meat has gone off if it feels very slimy or smells yeasty. If you spot any mold on the deli meat then do not eat it.
Garlic
We all keep garlic around as we know that it is not just delicious but that it has numerous health benefits. It is easy to store garlic bulbs just put them at room temperature in dry place. However, if you have broken the bulb then it has already started to decay so it needs to be used up immediately. Minced garlic will become unusable within a couple of hours. Do not use a clove if it has begun to sprout, instead throw it away immediately.
Bacon
Cooked bacon gives the impression that it ought to last for ages if correctly stored in your refrigerator, but actually you should be eating your bacon within a week. To make sure it stays fresh to eat, cook it within a couple of days of purchase and then it should keep in your fridge for an extra few days after being cooked.
Eggs
Consuming eggs past the expiration date is not really a good idea for anyone. In spite of everything, you do not want to be cracking open a rotten egg into your recipe. But as luck would have it, you will not need to crack your eggs open to work out whether they are still safe to consume. Simply pop the eggs into a bowl of water and if they sink then they are safe to eat, but if the egg floats in the water then you would be eating expired food. Eggs characteristically keep for upto a month after you bought them.
Mayonnaise
Very often the use-by dates on jars of mayonnaise give you a long time, however the moment that the jar is opened the mayonnaise will begin to decline even when you have properly stored it. As soon as it has been opened up then mayonnaise had better be used within a couple of months. You are probably eating an expired food if you have previously left your mayonnaise out on your kitchen counter to reach room temperature. If this is the case, you need to stop using it irrespective of how long it has been put back into the refrigerator.
Condiments
Not what most people think about but condiments are the expired food you’re probably eating every day. Since most unopened condiments have long shelf lives it is not often on most people’s minds that they do go bad. All condiments are different, so you have to look them over to check for changes in uniformity and color in addition to smelling them to see if you think that they are safe to use still.
Tomato Sauce
Similar to any other cooking sauce, the instant you open cans or jars of tomato sauce you will have exposed it to the air so it will start to deteriorate. Notwithstanding the use-by dates that you find on the label, you need to judge for yourself if an opened product is still safe to consume. It is really important to use up tomato sauces within a couple of days in your pasta sauces and bakes.
General Leftovers
The meal was great and so you want to keep what you can for the following day to prevent wasting food. But even if you have stored your leftovers appropriately in air-tight plastic containers, you must eat this food within two days otherwise you are eating food that has gone bad. Ensure leftovers have cooled down in the fridge and not on the counter otherwise they will be contaminated with bacteria before you even store them.
So, overall you must keep track of exactly when you have bought certain foods as this can help you to work out whether they are still good and fresh to eat.
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