Your opinion needed.

[Corribus]

You guys have the priviledge to help me out with a quick bit of research. Please answer the questions without looking anything up on the web.

How far after the sell-by or use-by dates would you feel comfortable consuming the following products?

(A) Milk
(B) Packaged Fresh Meat
(C) Canned Soda
(D) Canned beans
(E) Tylenol (over the counter headache medication)

If you don't use sell-by dates for a particular category, you can answer "don't use sell-by dates". If you discard on the sell-by date, say "zero". You can write a negative number, too, if you discard always before the sell-by date.

Kalah, feel free to delete this thread after monday, as it will no longer be useful to me.

[Kalah]

Sure, or at least close it. I can answer it as well.

Milk: a couple of days, if I have stored it myself (because my fridge is very cold).
Packaged fresh meat: a few days if stored correctly.
Canned soda: months.
Canned beans: weeks, possibly months.
Tylenol: a week or two. (We don't use that particular product, but paracetamol).

[Panda Tar]

How far after the sell-by or use-by dates would you feel comfortable consuming the following products?

(A) Milk
(B) Packaged Fresh Meat
(C) Canned Soda
(D) Canned beans
(E) Tylenol (over the counter headache medication)

I hope I understood these terms.

(A)
sell-by: zero
use-by: 3 days or 2 months (depending on which package the milk is in, bag or long-life box - Portuguese term, "embalagem longa-vida")
(B)
sell-by: maximum -1 day (the day before)
use-by: 2-3 days in fridge (1-2 months if I freeze it)
(C)
sell-by: zero
use-by: up to 2 months, regardless if I store it in a refrigerator or not. If I store it, I tend to consume earlier.
(D)
I don't consume canned beans.
(E)
sell-by: zero
use-by: as soon as I can. I almost never use this. After taking the medicine, I usually throw away what I don't consume.

Did I answer right?

[Angelspit]

Milk: a couple of days, if I have stored it myself (because my fridge is very cold).
Packaged fresh meat: a few days if stored correctly.
Canned soda: months.
Canned beans: weeks, possibly months.
Tylenol: a week or two. (We don't use that particular product, but paracetamol).

Pretty much the same, except Tylenol which I would keep for a longer time.

[Banedon]

Zero for all.

EDIT: wait that's only for the use-by date. Sell-by ... maybe three days for the perishables, a week for canned stuff and a month for medicine.

[GreatEmerald]

If "sell-by" is "display until", then we don't use those except for shops like Marks & Spencer, which are rare and rather luxurious.

As for the "best before", I don't go over that. Neither do I consume canned soda or canned beans.

[Pitsu]

If i understand the question correctly then the time would be roughly

0.1 * [(best before date) - (date of package)]


(A) Milk

if possible, i just look whether it still is an emulsion. ca 2 days at my home country. In US milk is much more fortified with i-do-not-know what and the time could be longer

(B) Packaged Fresh Meat

Since "fresh" meat needs to be utilized within days, overtime is a question of hours not days. So the answer is zero.

(C) Canned Soda

few months

(D) Canned beans

few months

(E) Tylenol (over the counter headache medication)

If the package has IUPAC name, I will check for possible oxidizable groups. If there is no other information than the expire date, then ,umm, +2 weeks? EDIT: after checking up that Tylenol is how they call paracetamol in NA, the answer would be a couple of months.

[jeff]

Sell buy dates
(A) Milk a few days if I bought it before the date and kept in my refrigerator
(B) Packaged Fresh Meat – if I froze it after I bought it (I have a vacuum pack food saver) then months otherwise if left unfrozen - days
(C) Canned Soda they have a best date , so obviously months
(D) Canned beans – months or longer if the can shows no signs of being pushed out
(E) Tylenol (over the counter headache medication) until they are gone

[Corribus]

Thanks everyone.

[Ethric]

A) a few days.
B) I wouldn't.
C, D) these things have so long dates they'd have to be ancient to be past the date, so I wouldn't risk it.
E) I wouldn't risk it with medicine.

[Gaidal Cain]

Milk, soda and canned stuff: Until it either starts smelling, looking or tasting funny. (I don't eat beans, though).
Meat: depends a bit on what I intend to do with it and how I have stored it, but if I'm going to fry it, a few days.
Headache medicine: would probably try it even if the date has passed. Throw away if effect isn't what was intended.

[klaymen]

A+B: sell by - I will call inspection to the shop, use by - zero
C+D: sell by - zero, use by - month at best
E: sell by - zero, use by - half a year (my mother works at the chemist, or whatever is it called, she tells me that medicine can be used without any problems 6 months after expiration date and I have no reason not to trust her)

[BoardGuest808888]

Don't use sell-by dates :
A. Milk :
Depending on type, if its UHT, fresh or else, between 2 weeks to 2 months.

B. Fresh Meat :
If frozen, until 4 months. If unfrozen, discard immediately.

C. Canned Soda :
Less than a week.

D. Canned Beans :
Discard immediately.

E. Tylenol & other generic medicine :
Up to six months.

[Panda Tar]

Well, Monday's up and thread is locked due creator's request. I hope it was of any use.