Is Eating Food After Its Expiry Date Harmful?

There are people who are extremely cautious and throw away the food item as soon as it hits its expiry date and some who sniff around and take a tiny taste to see if its still usable. If you fall in the latter category, so does one-third of UK customers according to the Food Standards Agency of England.

So the question remains, is eating food past its expiry date an okay thing to do. Expiry date may not necessarily mean that the food becomes unfit for consumption but the indicator that it is past a point where it may start going bad or may not even taste nice anymore.

However, according to reports by the Telegraph those who are thrifty will also know the importance of the expiry date when it comes to perishable items. The National Health Survey of England says that eating foods past the expiry date can lead to food poisoning. Also the food may be safe for a few days even after its use-by date.

One should also be aware of what food maybe harmful and what can pose a health threat. Soft fruits, mixed greens and raw meat can be dangerous. Preserves like jam, honey, ketchup, pickles can stay for long. Even fermented food like kimchi and sauerkraut or dried items like oats, crackers, biscuits and cookies are at a low risk.

Coming to cheese, hard cheese like cheddar is quite safe to consume as long as you cut the mould away. But soft cheeses like Brie and Camembert can develop harmful moulds. Consumption of safe food is the ultimate goal so its good to take a smart call on what’s good and what’s bad for you.