7 foods that you can eat beyond the best date-and if you shouldn’t risk it

By August 19, 2025 Nutrition

Holidays, day trips and spontaneous grilling can mean that we eat fewer meals at home than usual in summer.

This is great for our social life, but it could mean that more food is outdated in the fridge. Before you clarify a big one, it is important to know what the data really mean in popular supermarket items and when the food is still safe to eat.

“We throw 4.4 million tons of edible food every year in Great Britain, which the Wembley Stadium would fill eight times,” said Jo Linley, Food Specialist at Waste and Resources Action Program (Wrap) to Yahoo UK. “Every day we waste 2.7 million potatoes, 1.2 million breads and 2.3 million glasses of milk.”

This is not only bad for our wallets, which has the average four -member household information every year disadvantageous to the environment and generates harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

If you keep food for longer, you can help reduce the amount we waste and put more money in our pockets, but how do you know what is okay and which foods are not worthy of being risky? We asked Wrap and Specialist Dietician Nichola Ludlam-Raine to find out.

Can you take on foods via the expiry date?

Most packaged foods in Great Britain, with the exception of fresh, uncut fruits and vegetables, have either use or the best date. And while both Linley and Ludlam-Raine say that for security reasons, they should “never eat a meal beyond the date of use”, the best data is a little different.

“However, the usage data relates to security, although it is best to refer to quality,” explains Linley. “Where there is a best date with food, you can generally eat it beyond this time as long as you use your senses, including sniffing and searching for mold or signs of spoilage.”

Does food remains your nutritional value?

While there may be a loss of taste, texture or appearance, Ludlam-Raine says: “In most cases, food keeps your nutritional value far beyond the best date if you are stored properly.”

However, she notices that there are some exceptions.

“Some vitamins, especially vitamin C in fruits and certain B vitamins in enriched grain, can break down over time. However, protein, fiber and minerals remain stable,” she explains.

Discarded woman smelled expired milk in the fridge

According to the wrap, 2.3 million glasses of milk are wasted in Great Britain per day. (Getty Images)

7 foods that you can eat beyond the best date

These are just a few of the common foods that you can eat beyond the best date, provided that they are saved correctly according to the instructions of the packaging.

🥛 milk

“Milk is usually best with her date,” says Linley. “You will know when it is out because it looks painful, acidic and lumpy before it is dangerous to drink.”

The Food Standards Agency recommends using the snuff test to determine whether milk is acidic, or asks someone else to do this for you if you have problems with smell.

However, pay attention to utility data. Many supermarkets have scraped into milk to reduce waste, but if your cardboard has one, the FSA should not be consumed beyond this date, even if it smells good.

How to use milk: Add to smoothies, scrambled eggs and sauces or use it as an excuse to make homemade pudding. You can also freeze it in ice -lovers to create a cooling delicacies for young children.

Close up of a non -recognizable woman who cracks an egg in a bowl.

Eggs can be used two days after their best date. (Getty Images)

🥚 eggs

“Eggs are usually okay two days after their best date, but make sure they are cooked thoroughly [both the yolk and the white]”Says Linley. You will usually find the date stamped on the egg box or the eggshell.

One or two days after the best, there is also a much more reliable level of whether an egg is in order than the “swimmer test” fresh eggs sink into water; Older eggs swim.

“The Float test cannot show you which bacteria have grown in the egg,” explains the FSA. “The egg swims because more air in the older, it gets, it is an indicator of age, not security.

This is how you consume eggs: Make meringue, carbonara, bake a cake or cook a frittata that can be stored in the fridge for a few days.

In close -up, cut a roasted bread with strawberry jam

Jam’s high sugar content acts as a preservative. (Getty Images)

🍓 Jam

Ludlam-Raine said that unopened jams can take years for years. Once open, she says that you should keep it in the fridge and use it within six to twelve months, unless there is a time frame on the label.

If you see mold or jam or tasted fermented, don’t eat it, it’s time for the trash can.

This is how they use Jam: Turn to oats overnight, mix pancakes in pancakes or in salad dressings.

According to Linley, dried pasta can be used years after their best date. (Getty Images)

According to Linley, dried pasta can be used years after their best date. (Getty Images)

🍝 pasta

According to Linley, many ingredients such as cookies, chips and food in the business bridges can also be fine months after the best time. And that includes pasta. “If it is saved correctly, pasta can be used about three years after the best,” she says.

Dried pasta should be kept in an airtight container. However, fresh pasta should be cooled and used according to its date of use.

This is how you consume pasta: If you are bored by hearty pasta dishes, try this pudding from Love Food Hass waste. Put cooked pasta in a greased oven shell, beat two eggs well, give double cream and strawberry jam, pour evenly on the pasta and bake them at 180 degrees for 40 minutes. Cook noodles can also be frozen.

Brown rice can spoil faster than white rice. (Getty Images)

Brown rice can spoil faster than white rice. (Getty Images)

🍚 rice

Ludlam-Raine, another favorite of the business cabinet, says that white rice can be eaten for a long time according to its best date and is stored in a dry and airtight container. However, she warns that brown rice can spoil faster.

“Brown rice contains more natural oils, so it can be rancid after six to twelve months,” she says. Your top tip is to store uncooked brown rice in the fridge or freezer for a longer shelf life.

This is how you consume rice: Ludlham-Raine recommends that fried rice or rice salad be prepared-after cooking, the rice should quickly cool down, stored in the refrigerator and eat within 24 hours.

The cooked rice can also be frozen if it is quickly cooled by putting the container in cold water, covering it and freezing within an hour after cooking. Purpise and cook in the fridge until you punch hot.

Close up a mother and a daughter who unpack a reusable power bag with fresh fruit and vegetables in the kitchen. The focus is on the hands that hold the bag and an avocado and emphasize the importance of healthy eating and sustainable practices. This scene underlines the topics of family ties, healthy lifestyle and environmentally friendly life.

Fresh, uncut fruit and vegetables usually have no best. (Getty Images)

🥕 fruit and vegetables

“There should be no use or components for fresh uncut fruit and vegetables,” says Linley. Although you find some soft fruits like raspberries, you can have it because you have a shorter shelf life. Instead, you should use your judgment about whether you want to eat or not

Ludlam-rain adds that root vegetables can sprout or become soft, but usually eat well to eat when they are peeled and cooked. LIMP grasses can be cooked in cold water or in soups and stirring shops.

However, she warns of eating fruit and vegetables that have become moldy, smells of slimy or uncomfortable. “They should be rejected because mold can penetrate what is visible and some mold produce harmful toxins,” she says.

This is how you consume fruit and vegetables: Lightning -sponsored fruits in smoothies or bake in muffins; Roast tired vegetables or make it in soup.

Honey drips from honeydipers in glass. Healthy organic thick honey, which immerses from the wooden honey spoon, close -up.

If you form honey crystals, it doesn’t mean it is gone. (Getty Images)

🍯 honey

“Honey has a very low water content and a high sugar content that inhibits bacterial growth so that it can take an indefinite period when it is stored in a sealed container,” says Ludlam-Raine. She also says that it is safe when she is crystallized.

“The crystallization is natural and does not mean

How to use honey: Yogurt, porridge or tea in yogurt stir-crystallized honey works the same way, says Ludlam-Raine.

If you shouldn’t risk it

If the experts say you should be careful when eating the best before the date of the date. Remember that the usage data should always be followed.

  • Eggs more than two days after their best date.

  • High oil foods such as nuts, seeds and whole grain flour when they are rancid. Ludlam-Raine says that the smell and taste are revealed.

  • Soft fruit, vegetables or other foods that have become moldy or slimy.

What to do with food that approaches his expiry date?

  • Freezing it after packaging instructions – this acts as a “break key”, which means that food does not deteriorate or spoil.

  • Cooking it can be cooked with the date of use until midnight, cooled and frozen or kept in the fridge to be eaten within 48 hours.

  • Take a look at Love Food Hass waste, you can search for certain foods and you will receive information about whether you can be frozen or not, tips for use and recipes.

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