Chemical Dragonfly

“hey sometimes you gotta fix your pants at the pumpkin patch 🎃 Hair: @arcticfoxhaircolor and @limecrimemakeup Jewelry: all @regalrose 💕✨“

The food bank gave me a hand-out about how long you can safely eat unopened foods past their expiration dates, and I thought other people might find it helpful. 

DAIRY:

Milk, cream: within 10 days past expiration date

Soft cheese, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese: consume within 14 days past expiration date

Butter, hard cheese: consume within 3 months past expiration date (personal note: if cheese gets mold you can cut off the moldy parts the rest is still fine)

Frozen butter: consume within 12 months past expiration date

Eggs (in shells): consume within 1 month past expiration date

Egg substitutes: consume within 10 days of expiration date. 

MEAT:

Fresh: consume on or before expiration date

Frozen: defrost in fridge or microwave, and eat immediately after defrosting. 

Not do eat: meat with severe freeze burn, discolored meat, and meat not frozen before expiration date

MEAT & DAIRY SUBSTITUTES:

Liquid products (rice milk, almond milk): consume withing 10 days past expiration date

Shelf stable liquid products: consume within 12 months past expiration date

Margarine: consume within 6 months past expiration date

Meat substitutes (tofu, etc): consume on or before expiration date

Frozen meat substitutes: consume within 12 months past expiration date if frozen before expiration date

DRIED & CANNED FOODS:

Dried beans, pasta: consume indefinitely

Dressings, mayo: consume within 12 months past expiration date

Cereal, crackers: consume within 12 months past expiration date

Canned foods: may be consumed indefinitely (except for pineapple and tomato)

Jarred foods, canned tomato and pineapple: consume within 18 months past expiration date

OTHER:

Fresh juice: consume within 3 months past expiration date

Fresh bread, pastries: consume on or before expiration date (personal note, I find that sandwich bread is good to eat so long as it’s not stale or growing mold)

Frozen bread: consume within 6 months past expiration date

Fresh produce: ripe, edible, and mold-free

Sliced melon: consume on or before expiration date

Deli items, packaged by store: consume within 48 hours of expiration date

Pre-packaged prepared foods packed by manufacturer, fresh: consume within 14 days past expiration date

Pre-packaged prepared foods packed by manufacturer, frozen: consume within 12 months past expiration date

DO NOT EAT:

Food that is stale, has insects, or mold

Food in open, punctured, bulging, or seriously damaged cans

Food in a jar that is leaking or has a broken seal

Food that is discolored or has an off-odor

Product has been thawed then re-frozen 

So here’s a true story: my father, sometime in the 70s was looking for his first job. He went to the local McDonalds and told the staff, [manager’s name] said I was supposed to start today. They took his word for it and started training him and by the time the manager saw him and asked who he was, people just said “oh that’s the new guy.”

Somehow this actually worked. My dad worked there for a couple of years as a cook. He even won an award plaque which he had on the wall until the day he died.