Do you ever find yourself accidentally eating expired foods, such as condiments, breads, canned goods, or snacks? Or better yet, do you get that satisfying feeling of cleaning out your refrigerator by tossing expired items? Well, what if we told you that consuming foods past the best if used-by date, the sell-by date, the use-by date, or the freeze-by date isn’t always bad for you?
According to the USDA, many dates listed on foods actually refer to quality, not safety, meaning certain items won’t hurt you if you eat them—they may just taste stale or lose flavor as time goes on.
While the best way to determine if eating expired foods would be of harm to you is to look out for visible mold or strange smells (this is always easier with perishables), a lot of the time consumers aren’t able to see (or even taste) harmful bacteria that could be living on the item. If you spot something funky, throwing it out would be the best option.
“If the date passes during home storage, a product should still be safe and wholesome if handled properly until the time spoilage is evident,” the USDA says. “Spoiled foods will develop an off odor, flavor, or texture due to naturally occurring spoilage bacteria. If a food has developed such spoilage characteristics, it should not be eaten.”
It’s always your best bet to err on the side of caution or check the FDA’s food safety guidelines when consuming expired foods, as the dates can be confusing. But it’s also important to know the few things that could happen to you if you eat something past a given date.
Here are some possible side effects of eating expired foods.
– Food poisoning
– Exposure to dangerous bacteria
– Loss of nutritional value
If you are lucky, you may not suffer any side effects. However, prevention is always better than cure. If you’re unlucky enough to come down with food poisoning, you can bet you’ll be down for the count for about 24 hours. The following home remedies may help minimize your discomfort and shorten the duration of your symptoms.
1. Replace your body’s fluids.
If your stomach will tolerate it, be sure to keep taking liquids, especially if you have diarrhea. Try eating gelatin or drinking decaffeinated soda, tea with sugar, or water.
2. Avoid rich or spicy foods.
When your stomach is feeling irritated, eating fatty or highly seasoned foods may send you right back to the bathroom. If you feel hungry, it’s probably best to stick with clear liquids, plain toast, mashed potatoes, bananas, or other bland foods.
3. Replace your potassium.
Vomiting and diarrhea may deplete your body’s supply of potassium, which may leave you feeling even worse. An extreme potassium imbalance can even be fatal. Twenty-four hours after your symptoms started (and hopefully when you’re feeling a bit better), replenish your potassium stores with a sports drink or a banana.
4. Be careful with pain medications.
Some people make the mistake of taking prescription or over-the-counter pain medications to reduce the discomfort of intestinal cramps. These drugs–especially those containing aspirin or ibuprofen–may irritate the gastrointestinal tract and increase discomfort.
5. Try a hot-water bottle.
A not-too-hot hot-water bottle placed on the abdomen may help ease the pain of cramps.
6. Hibernate for a day.
There’s really not a whole lot you can do to end your misery; just be good to yourself and wait it out. Cancel your plans, rest, and take solace in the fact that it will pass in 24 hours or so.
You might want to avoid the kitchen when you’re in the grip of food poisoning, but there are many foods and fluids that will help you recover more quickly. Go to the next page to learn more.
7. Avoid solid foods until vomiting ends. Then eat light, bland foods, such as saltine crackers, bananas, rice, or bread.
If vomiting and diarrhea last more than 24 hours, drink an oral rehydration solution.
References; eatthis.com, http://trendinginkenya.com/
