Food Sell-By Dates
Melanie Reid wrote a thought provoking article for The Times yesterday on food sell-by dates. The first two paragraphs set the tone.
Made a cracking lasagne on Sunday. The cheese was several weeks old, the parsley so wilted it was borderline slimey, the tomatoes needed big mouldy bits cut off and the cream was ten days beyond its sell-by date. The mince was … well, I should really have cooked it midweek, but it was only a little bit grey.
The dish tasted terrific and no one in the house has yet died, or at least not so you’d notice. In fact, after a lifetime of scouring the fridge for leftovers and lost inspiration, I’m sure as a family we have superior immune systems and a sturdier bank balance. Though perhaps not quite as robust as that of one particular friend, who only ever buys food from the supermarket discard bin and is correspondingly able to fund a second home in France.
Today there is this response in the same paper.
Sir, Last night I played Russian roulette and won (“Hang the sell-by date: just eat and enjoy”, Melanie Reid, Notebook, Aug 11).
Tonight I might not be so lucky.
Tim J. Smith
Chief Executive
Food Standards Agency
What do I do? Use my commonsense and I’ve never had food poisoning. But for me being glutened is much more important. I’d admit I’ve done that a couple of times.
The Anonymous Widower 