Stop wasting! 10 foods you can eat past the expiration date

ByGitanjali Roche, 08/18/2014

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Stop Wasting! 10 foods you can still eat after the expiration date

We all tend to throw food away once the expiration date is up. It's basic food safety, right? But believe it or not, there are several foods that are totally fine to eat past their sell-by date. The most important thing when it comes to food safety is to maintain continuous refrigeration for certain foods. If you respect this rule, and our guide to the 10 foods that you can safely eat, then you'll have no risk at all to your health or food safety.

Yogurt

"I ate a yogurt that was two days past its expiration date, I just know I'm going to be sick!" Nope, you're not. Yogurts can continue to be eaten for up to two weeks past their expiration date. But this rule applies only to plain or fruit yogurts, and not yogurt-based desserts, custards or any product that contains eggs in it.

Canned food

Canned food can be eaten up to a year past the expiration date, as long as it's kept in a cool, dry environment. If the can is perfectly intact, with no dents or holes, then it's totally safe.

Chocolate

Not everybody possesses the rare skill of wolfing down an entire bar of chocolate in one sitting. For the less gluttonous amongst us, have no fear: a bar of chocolate will stay good for 1 - 2 years, depending on the type of chocolate. It will however lose a little bit of its flavor, so the best is to use it in baking instead of consuming it raw.

DrIED Goods (Rice, Pasta etc)

Dried goods

You can store dried goods safely for up to a year. Ideally you should keep them in a dry, airtight container made out of glass or metal.

Freeze-dried products (coffee, purées, powdered soups, etc.)

Coffee

These products can be safely consumed past their expiration date if they remain unopened. That said, they will lose a bit of flavor.

Cheese

How long you can keep cheese depends on what kind of cheese it is. Hard cheeses like cheddar or Monterey Jack can keep for up to 10 months. Soft cheeses however, like Brie or Camembert, keep for about 10 days however. The best rule of thumb is to rely on your nose and eyes: if it smells too strong or is moldy, then it's time to throw it away!

Eggs

Don't mess around with eggs!

Hard boiled eggs can be stored for up to a week in the fridge. Raw eggs should never be kept longer than 21 days after they've been laid, and should ideally be stored in the carton they came in. As for egg whites, you can keep them in the fridge for up to a week, or you can even freeze them. Egg yolks are much more fragile and should be consumed within a few hours of cracking the egg.

UHT milk

UHT milk can be used up to 2 months past the expiration date. Although the vitamin content might decrease slightly, as well as the flavor, it still remains perfectly safe to drink. Just make sure the milk carton or bottle isn't dented.

cookies

Cookies can be eaten after their sell-by date, no problem. Just make sure the box is still closed. To extend their shelf life and avoid becoming stale, keep them in a metal box lined with a paper towel to absorb humidity. If they become too soft, then use them to make a cheesecake crust or a or crumble topping.

Frozen Foods

Frozen foods

Frozen products can generally be consumed for a couple of months past the expiration date. But if you've frozen the food yourself, make sure to eat it within two months. A nice idea is to write the date you froze the food with a marker on the Ziploc bag, that way you won't forget.