Quick thoughts needed

[CathyA]

Throw the food into the compost pile and recycle the cans.

[boss mare]

Thank You everyone for your input … I know that it needed to go to the dump, I just wanted reassurance LOL I have a F350 dually long bed PU and I had to make 2 trips to the dump …

[Zoe Girl]

Thank you, i have been sick from food issues a couple times and it is horrible. It is hard but so much better to let go

[Yppej]

I eat expired food, I just look at it and smell it first. There are exceptions like milk. In fact I used to go up to Winchester, NH to a store called Mr. G's that had great deals on expired food, but they went out of business. If I could find another nearby store like that I would go there. Maybe there is one such in your area and they would take the old food?

[Tea]

Don't toss it! The canned goods are perfectly safe to eat even many years past their "best used by" date.

There is a lot of confusion among consumers, but the truth is that a "best used by" date is NOT the same thing as an expiration date, and is merely a suggestion by the manufacturer that the food may begin to loose quality - though not safety - after that date. This means, for example, that certain canned vegetables will be less brightly colored, and that the vitamin content may not be quite as high as that listed on the label. It in no way means that the food is at risk of spoiling, or is any more likely to make someone sick than it ever was. For canned goods that are only three years past their "best by" date, I would not even be at all concerned about the color or vitamin content being noticeably effected - in terms of canned food storage, that time is insignificant. And by the way, "best used by" dates are chosen by the company, not regulated by the government. One brand can put their "best by" date two years from date of manufacture, while a different company chooses to put their "best by" date six years from date of manufacture, for the exact same product processed in the exact same way, even though the reality is that both keep equally well. Misunderstanding of what these labels means leads to so much unnecessary food waste!

The use by dates on baby food/baby formula are the one exception - those are set by the government because the slight loss of certain vitamins could actually effect the health of a growing infant consuming only that food for an extended period of time. It still does not mean the food is spoiled - an adult could eat baby food years later - it just might not have quite the complete nutrition a baby needs.

For non-canned shelf stable foods - boxes of cereal, say - it is just a matter of taste. If it is too old it might have gone stale, but it is certainly worth checking. Whole foods like dry beans take an extra long time to cook if they are ancient, but I have literally eaten some that were older than I am, and they do get tender eventually

I routinely eat canned goods that are three or four years past their "best by" date, just because I find it more convenient to buy several cases at once, and I have never noticed the dulling of color that they claim can happen in anything other than the canned peas, nor do I care that much about their color to begin with.

If you don't want the food yourself, ask around. Surely you have a friend or family member who would take some free food. If there are items no one wants, find someone who keeps chickens. Chickens will eat almost any kind of food, and it is very healthy for them to get the extra variety in their diet. Please, don't throw perfectly good food in the trash just because of a date arbitrarily chosen by a company, after which they no longer guarantee that the food will be visually appealing or quite live up to the vitamin content listed on the label. It is still healthy food, and the decline in most vitamins over time is very slight.

The only reason some food pantry's decline food that is past it's "best by" date is because too many of the people who take food from them confuse it with an expiration date. Expiration dates are for perishable, usually refrigerated foods that could spoil and make you sick. Personally, I will eat perishable foods a day or two past their expiration date if they smell fine and it's a food I really like, lol, but I certainly would not try to talk anyone else in to doing so, even though I have never gotten food poisoning.

"Best used by" dates are a different matter, and there is a real need for more education of the public on what they mean and why they exist, so I always try to do my part to prevent unnecessary food waste.

[iris lilies]

Tea,I agree with you that all these dates are suggestions, and it’s perfectly fine to use one’s own judgment about a few items in one’s own cupboards. I am not picky about expiration and use-by dates myself for the items I have purchased myself.

But we are talking here about a woman who has limited time in cleaning out an entire house. Surely you would not have her spend d her precious life energy examing each can and trying to find a home for it since the bulk way to dispose of it, a food pantry, is out. Our time has value.

[Teacher Terry]

Rent a dumpster and throw it away. When you have a entire house to deal with there is no other way to deal with it in a timely fashion.

[Float On]

There are times in life to be super simple and very quick in decision making. This is one of those times. Sorry you are having to deal with so much stuff but remember it was their stuff...not yours. You have the freedom to not have to deal with it long-term.

[happystuff]

Slight change but still on topic - these types of threads are the reminders I need to resume/continue my decluttering efforts. The last thing I want any family and friends to think about me is how much junk they had to deal with after I died. Good luck to you, boss mare.

[Teacher Terry]

We regularly eat down the pantry and freezer. Sometimes when people didn’t have enough to eat as kids they react this way. Purely emotional.