Link: https://japantoday.com/category/features/food/do-you-toss-food-once-the-date-on-the-label-has-passed-experts-say-that's-often-a-waste

(cross-post of a thread in !food@slrpnk.net originally posted by someone else)

I don't remember who told me this "system" to check if food went bad, but it's a great one imo

1. If it looks good, smell it
2. If it smells good, taste it
3. If it tastes good, eat it

I would add: if it tastes off, spit it out, as tasting does not imply swallowing.

Worth noting as well that the taste test can kill you when dealing with some very toxic variaties of wild mushrooms -- even if you spit it out.

Yea, good advice. But also good to remember you can't smell or taste salmonella, e coli, listeria, botulism, etc...

Yeah, those rules don't feel meant for foraging, just for assessing spoilage

That is a good reminder, thank you

Of course this approach has its limits. I thought it was clear when I said that this method is to "check if food went bad".

If something like meat has not been cooked, or a dairy product has not been properly pasteurised, or there where unsanitary food production conditions, or not canned properly etc, this method does not apply.

It is definately not a way to check if something is eadible in general. And if you are pregnant or have special diatery needs, you know the specifics of your situation.

"Expiration" dates are pure marketing, 100%. They only exist to pressure stores to restock asap for more profit to the sellers' shareholders, nothing more. 🤌🏼

They never met a wild mushroom, I assume.

AFAIK, you can't visually assess whether something's been "properly" pasteurized or canned, and plenty of traditional dishes use un/semi-cooked meats.

The saying smacks of <90s (if not <50s) in its deceptive simplicity, and assumption that the listener is smart enough to suss out the rare moments it's applicable.

(aside: definitely*, edible*)

So, they're universal "rules" like the timeless "i before e" one, right?

Gotta be careful with cooked rice because it goes deadly in a way that's unnoticable

I suppose, yes and no. In a way the tricky thing is to know what to look for: to be able to recognize that a slimy texture is a sign that it has gone bad.

Here are some more medically reviewd tips from healthline:

Does Rice Go Bad? Shelf Life, Expiration Date, and Safe Storage

They are legal requirements afaik.

I wish I could get my bf to believe this.

Share some facts and official advise, that should convince any reasonable person. If your region doesn't differentiate between 'use by' and 'best by' then the website lists the foods to be eztra cautious with (e.g. meat, fish, dairy)

https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/safe2eat/food-date-labelling

yogurt, cereal, UHT milk, pasta, rice, canned stuff...dried stuff...none of them expire. I once lost a yogurt (sealed) on a desktop behind some paperwork (very much not refrigerated, not advised) and once I found it a few months later...it was still good edible :D

My wife goes strictly by the date, even before sometimes. Doesn't matter what it looks, smells, or tastes like, if it's at the date, it gets tossed.

Some dates she makes up, like deli meat. She gives it 3 days, and it's gone, which isy biggest irritation. Nothing worse than looking forward to a sandwich, only to find out that it all got tossed.

It's been over 30 years, I've moved on from that argument. I just try to find the stuff that's getting close, and use it up.

Yesterday, I passed a deer chowing down on mushroom fairy ring. Not really relevant, but your mention of mushrooms reminded me.

Guess I’d try getting a separate mini-fridge, with a lock. When something is ~2 days before triggering the chronic waste manager, move it to the locked fridge.

I’ve seen refrigerated cooked rice turn pink and slimey in spots. I trash the dodgy looking stuff and fry the rest. Is that a bad idea? I got away with it twice so far. Now I leave the lid loose so some of the moisture can escape.

(edit) after reading the link posted by 'solo', I guess i should freeze rice if I don’t use it after a couple days.

He has a lot of anxiety about things he mentally relates to poverty. When I'm making food for us, I use my own judgment, though. :p

Clearly she's abusive and you need to dump her ASAP.

Oh wait this isn't r*eddit. Never mind, good job on your 30 years.

Thank you for sharing this.

I gotta admit I'm a bit confused because none of the articles posted here - articles made specifically to talk about if rice is safe - seem to be aware of fried rice syndrome? The thing that is such a thing that it got an own name?

The danger about fried rice syndrome is that it is unnoticeable. Meat goes bad, it stinks or gets white dots, etc. Fried rice syndrome, it doesn't appear different at all and you can just straight up die from it. Restaurants only make rice fresh because of this danger.

But restaurants are extra careful, of course. At home, if you make sure to cool your rice quickly it's ok. Which also means, don't put one huge bowl of warm rice I to your fridge, because it will stay warm enough for the bacteria in the middle.

It's also one if those things that doesn't happen often, so there's a chance you go through your whole life without this ever being a problem, but I don't wanna die from bowl of rice.

Similarly, I was camping waaay out some years back, and discovered during pack-out that one of my magic chocolate truffles was missing. I found it by the firewood cache, but nearly half eaten, and still being gripped in one of the dead mouse's forepaws. 🤷🏼‍♂️ Ya live & learn, or ya don't, I guess. That little guy rejoined the cosmos in Technicolor, though! 🤗

Definitely an extreme example, but within the last week I had cottage cheese that had a date on the label of 2024. It was kept in a cold part of the fridge the whole time and was not opened until I had it.

Not only was it still good, it was outright the best-tasting cottage cheese I've had.