DEAR DR. GOTT: Can a person hurt himself by eating canned fruit or food after the expiration date listed?
DEAR READER: The only canned items required to actually carry an expiration date on labeling are infant formula and some baby foods. Listing expiration dates is voluntary, and those voluntary guidelines vary from state to state. Some packaging might provide a “sell by,” “born on,” “guaranteed fresh,” “use by,” “best if used by” or “pack” date — the latter indicating when a product was canned or packaged.
Consider milk that is sometimes good for almost a week after the sell-by date, or eggs that are good up to five weeks — as long as the label reads a sell date several days into the future when you purchase them. [Read more...]