P.S. If anybody asks why... the answer is why not. It is not like we have a clue as to what we are really eating, where did it come from and how it was prepared.

After some reluctance she talked me into leftovers. Well it gets better, about a month ago I was cleaning out her cabinet and I was repulsed by the smell of this rock hard bread and I asked her what possible redeeming value it had, she said shell give it to the geese when it rains.
So as I was eating the year expired ground beef she said, "oh yeah that bread I was going to give to the geese that you said had no reedeming value, I used it in the meatloaf" I refused to eat any more and she said she should have waited till I was finished to tell me, and like someone else mentioned once bitten, twice shy.

I so want to denounce that phony kids are starving in Africa defense. The other day she was telling me how to eat my cherries and got frustersted for not eating the good parts, then afterwords she told me she was throwing the seeds away. There is world hunger, 30 cherry trees in the trashcans, those might have helped feed the people in Africa.

but regardless of whether they're labelling their products correctly, they're still allowing hoards of beef and produce contaminated by salmonella to reach the market. baaaaad food distributors. BAD!

I don't know if the body can build up a tolerance, but that's something that my husband swears is true. To be fair, I've known him for over a decade the only time I've known him to get sick from eating the wrong thing was on a trip to Egypt. But he was okay within hours.

And eggs are still good as long as they float.

and IF they go off, you will smell it right away.
even if you've never smelled a rotten egg before, believe me, you WILL know =]

As for personal experience I've never had food poisoning or something like that and I would eat whatever even if it tastes funny, I must have a pretty resistant stomach/immune system.

the only things really dangerous (read: will make you sick for a while) is meat, but when its really off you WILL smell it.
And when in doubt just fry it extra hard, no problem.

...

...

*SALT*

There's one main piece of advice doctors will give you, thou': If it taste bad, don't eat it. Most people who catch sickness during travel or report to hospitals with food poisoning reports having eaten something tasting foul/weird before getting sick.

And be aware of cheese and raw fish..

It's not really an issue for me. I don't eat meat, so that's one big spoilage problem out the window. As for everything else, I usually eat it way before the due date. Anything that's past the due date is usually WAY PAST the due date, and often visibly furry.

I avoid soy yogurt at all costs, however. That stuff seems to get moldy whether it's past the due date or not!

(Of course, this is much harder to do if you're trying to feed a larger household)

There are some kinds of food though where you have to be very careful:

Fresh eggs for mayonnaise: Their immune system keeps salmonella at bay for about 8 days; after this you are a fool to use it in uncooked food. (And yes: there are salmonella in every egg and chicken you buy...)

Meat: Is a perfect medium for all the bacteria and tapeworm larvae and whatnot it brings along with itself; always cook well and use proper hygiene when a little too old. When it's much older (10 days or so) or smells funny throw away...

Fish: Sushi anyone? Be sure you buy at a serious fishmarket and ask specifically for sushi-fish. Use the same or the next day.

Bread: Some kinds of fungi (especially the nasty red one) grow hyphae all the way through it, and their metabolic by-products can be hazardous.

Vegetables: Same as for fungi: Some spot on your tomato might mean that the whole thing is better thrown away...

Marmelade: It is generally ok to scratch the top layer of fungi off. The sugar concentration is so high that the fungi can't grow into it. On the top the sugar concentration however is gradually diminishing meaning they can gro on top. But be aware: "light" marmelade has so little sugar that it doesn't hinder the fungi from growing into the whole glass at all!

Happy eating everyone!

Having experienced food poisoning, and given the recent agricultural issues with spinach, tomatoes and green onions, I might re-evaluate my cooking methods and how far I push expiration dates.

Dude, I know EXACTLY what you mean. Once my Mom made me a mug of heated milk for me to have with breakfast, however, I told her it didn't look right. It must have been a bad morning for her because she said, "You're an idiot just drink your milk," so I did. And promptly ran to the kitchen sink to throw up. That entire mug was...chunky.

It doesn't help that I once had a bad experience with sour milk. Took a huge chug just as it hit me that it smelled "off" and was sick for the rest of the day. I don't take chances.