Eat It or Toss It – How to decide if food is safe to eat?

How do you decide if food in your fridge, freezer or cupboard is safe to eat? The more you know about food and what factors to be aware of, the better equipped you are to make that decision. In an effort to help you make informed decisions about whether food is safe to eat, here’s what I recommend followed by an explanation of why no one is willing to make the decision for you.

Read more: How to Store Food, Meal Plan to Save $$ and Reduce Waste, How to Reduce Food Waste at Home.

Key Resources For Shelf Life of Food

Government of Canada – Safe Food Storage
Provides tips and guidelines for general food safe handling and food safety.

Eat By Date
Covers common questions on food expiration and safe storage times, with guides for various food categories.

StillTasty – Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide
A user-friendly site where you can search for specific foods to see storage guidelines and spoilage indicators.

US FoodSafety.gov – Food Safety info from US government agencies

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Hotline
FoodSafety.gov is the gateway to food safety information provided by government agencies.

3. Hotline: 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854)
4. Available: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST

Why Isn’t there a Food Safety Date

Best Before Dates, as clearly stated by the Canada Food Inspection Agency, are an indicator of food quality not food safety. It will give you the manufacturer’s best guess as to when the taste, texture, quality and nutrients may begin to deteriorate, it won’t tell you if food is safe to eat or not. And even that date has no regulated standard for how it is set – it is left to the manufacturer to decide.

So when you’re looking at that tub of yogurt, that half jar of spaghetti sauce or that ancient can of whatever in your cupboard how do you know whether or not its safe to eat? How did people make these decisions before Best Before Dates. FYI Best Before Dates made their debut in the 1970’s – they were previously used only by grocers as an inventory management tool.

No one can provide you a specific answer. It’s a decision only you can make based on information about your food product that only you know. And like everyone else, I recommend that if you don’t have confidence in that food, err on the side of caution and toss it out.

The fact is food is an organic material that is subject to all sorts of variables. Even if we could create a formula based on precise time, temperature, light, humidity, oxygen exposure, etc. we could never factor in how one household interacts with their food compared to another.  For example, do you put milk out on the table at breakfast time or do you use it and put it right back, does someone drink from the carton (I’ve heard this happens!), do you store it in the door or on the middle shelf toward the back, did you have a long or short trip to and from the grocery store, how hot was it, did you make any stops? Every household is different. There are too many unknowns for anyone to definitively say your milk will go bad in 53 hours past the best before date.

Let’s Put Our Knowledge to the Test!

With all this information at hand, let’s see how it works in real life. I checked my fridge and pantry for food close or past their Best Before Dates. Let’s see what I should Toss or Eat.

Can of Tuna

It’s February 3, 2023, there’s a can of tuna in my cupboard with a BBD of March 2021. Toss it or Eat It?

• Health Canada says toss it
• CFIA says if in doubt, throw it out
• EatByDate says canned tuna will last 2-5 years
• StillTasty says canned tuna will last 3-5 years.

What is My Choice:

I’m eating it. I can see the can is in good shape (no dents, signs of leaks, etc.). I know it’s just been in the cupboard and the storage temperature has been consistent. The colour and texture may not be perfect, but there’s no reason why this can of tuna shouldn’t be safe to eat. I’ll smell and look inside once open – but assuming there’s nothing funky – I’m having tuna! Who’s coming over for lunch? Or maybe tuna noodle casserole? (Does anyone make that anymore?)

NOTE TO SELF: Rotate the cans in your pantry and use what you have before you buy more!

Yogurt

It’s February 3, 2023, the plain yogurt container has a BBD of February 2, 2023. Toss it or Eat It?

Do you eat yogurt one day past it’s Best Before Date?

• Health Canada says toss it
• CFIA says if in doubt, throw it out and don’t rely on your senses
• EatByDate says opened yogurt will last 1 week.
• StillTasty says yogurt will last 5-7 days after opened.

What is My Choice:

I’m eating it. It’s only been a day and it doesn’t look or smell funny in any way. The CFIA says never use your senses (which is a shame), but dairy products give off very clear signs when they’ve gone bad. You KNOW when dairy has gone off.

NOTE TO SELF: Yogurt is great in smoothies, there’s no reason to let yogurt go to waste.

Mayonnaise

It’s February 3, 2023, the mayo container has a BBD of November 28, 2022.  Toss it or Eat it?

Would you eat mayo that’s 2-3 months beyond the Best Before Date?

• Health Canada says toss it
• CFIA says if in doubt, throw it out and don’t rely on your senses
• EatByDate says an opened jar of mayo will last 1 month past the BBD
• StillTasty says an opened jar of mayo will last 2 to 3 months after the BBD as long as it has been stored properly

What is My Choice:

I’m eating it – quickly! My mayo is 2 1/2 months past the BBD. There’s just a little left in the container, there’s no mold or signs of concern, it’s kept in the fridge, there’s no double dipping and we never put mayo out on the table (we use it and put it right back in the fridge so it’s rarely at room temperature for more than 5 minutes). I’m eating it in the next few days – it’ll be great for that tuna salad sandwich!

NOTE TO SELF: Buy smaller jars of mayo, we don’t use it that often. And by the way tuna and mayo make a great salad!

Sour Cream

It’s February 23, 2023 and my sour cream has a BBD of Jan 10, 2023.  Toss it or Eat it?

• Health Canada says toss it
• CFIA says if in doubt, throw it out just don’t rely on my senses
• EatByDate says opened sour cream will last 7- 10 days past the BBD
• StillTasty says opened sour cream will last 2 weeks once opened

What is My Choice:

I’m NOT eating it. It’s three weeks past the BBD and I know I opened that container well before that date. I don’t see mold (a very obvious sign dairy has gone bad) but the pool of liquid on top (a little separation is normal and not a bad sign) is cloudy and more yellow than translucent white, and it seems a little thick. That cloudy, thick liquid is a sign that this sour cream is too far gone. I’m not even going to bake with it – sadly, I’m tossing it.

NOTE TO SELF: Buy smaller containers of sour cream or bake with it before it goes off. I should know better, because this isn’t the first time I’ve thrown out sour cream.

Chicken Stir Fry Leftovers

We had some mighty tasty homemade chicken stir fry on Feb 20 and there are leftovers in the fridge. Today is February 23. Eat it or Toss it? 

• Health Canada says eat refrigerated left overs within 2 to 3 days
• CFIA says if in doubt, throw it out and don’t rely on your senses
• EatByDate says cooked chicken will last 7 days
• StillTasty says cooked chicken will last 3 to 4 days
• Chicken.ca says cooked chicken will last 3 to 4 days

What is My Choice:

I’m eating it – TODAY! We’re on day 3. It’s now or never. If it doesn’t get eaten today it’s hitting the garbage. Wait, never mind, hubby ate it for breakfast!

NOTE TO SELF: Freeze leftovers right away if you know no one’s around to eat the leftovers.

What’s the Pattern to My Decision Making?

Notice there isn’t a clear cut answer. It IS subjective, but there is a pattern to my choices. I apply sound decision making based on advice from leading agencies, what the packaging looks like, who handled the foods (double dipping by kids definitely shortens shelf life), how the food was stored and handled and ultimately what it looks and smells like. I also consider who’s going to eat it – I’m not giving it to anyone who’s immuno-compromised. Eat or toss is a choice I make based on what I know. You need to make your choice based on your knowledge and comfort level.

I do encourage you to go through the motions and go beyond the Best Before Date to make decisions about your food. And see those Notes to Self I made for myself – that’s part of the process too! Constantly improving and working towards wasting less food.

Looking for more Best Before Date info?

Read more. Here’s another full article to arm you with the skills you need to decide safely, every time.

It’s your judgement call. It’s your tolerance level. It’s your food. It’s your decision. The more you know, the better you’ll be able to make those decisions.

Sign up to get articles by Getty delivered to your inbox. You’ll get recipes, practical tips and great food information like this. Getty is a Professional Home Economist,  speaker and writer putting good food on tables and agendas.  She is the author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener.