stored food

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 20 May 2014, 16:18

cubes wrote:Nutella... unnecessary? What world are you living in?

RC's.

Post by **adam2** » 24 May 2014, 12:47

adam2 wrote:I wonder how long Nuttela keeps ?
I found some "best before 2009" and on examination I observed small white spots on the surface of the product which I feared to be mould.

It now seems that in fact the white bits are not mould but fat that has separated, they are present throughout not just on the surface.

The Nutella looks and smells just fine and I have eaten some. I suspect harmless separation of the fat content in much the some way that a harmless white bloom of separated fat tends to appear on long stored bars of chocolate.

Well I ate it all without ill effect, tasted fine.
I am normally more efficient at stock rotation than was the case with this, for reasons long forgotton some nutella was stored not with other foods as should have been the case, but was in a crate of light bulbs.

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 24 May 2014, 13:21

Many products are limited in their storage time by the fat content. The fat can go rancid without any bacteriological contamination. I think it only affects the flavour but doesn't cause any ill effects.

fuzzy · Post by **fuzzy** » 25 May 2014, 17:38

I think oxidised fat can hammer your vitamin E levels which is used up restoring the stuff. Shouldn't be a problem until we are genuinely short on nutrition.

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 25 May 2014, 21:42

fuzzy wrote:I think oxidised fat can hammer your vitamin E levels which is used up restoring the stuff. Shouldn't be a problem until we are genuinely short on nutrition.

Well yes but how secure do you think your present supply of nutrition is. If food deliveries to your favorite market were cut off due to : grid failure, an oil supply crisis, an economic collapse, war or civil war, etc. How long could you fend for yourself and your family with the tools and supplies you have in hand right now?

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 25 May 2014, 22:02

If that sort of situation prompted societal collapse I would have to resort to armed shepherding of my cattle and bringing them in at night for armed guarding. The proposed walled garden would increase in priority as well and have guard towers added at the corners!

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 25 May 2014, 22:08

It'd be like Border Ballads only without the poetry

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 27 May 2014, 10:48

adam2 wrote:some nutella was stored not with other foods as should have been the case, but was in a crate of light bulbs.

I bet you were in your element.

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 27 May 2014, 12:37

I bet you were in your element.

It'd be like Border Ballads only without the poetry Sad

Had to ponder that a bit until It dawned on me you are talking about the Scottish border not the Mexican one.

featherstick · Post by **featherstick** » 27 May 2014, 15:50

adam2 wrote:
adam2 wrote: I am normally more efficient at stock rotation than was the case with this, for reasons long forgotton some nutella was stored not with other foods as should have been the case, but was in a crate of light bulbs.
Was it just a light snack?

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 27 May 2014, 16:00

Hah!

He'd probably had his fill, I meant.

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 27 May 2014, 20:43

Well that went down like a LED balloon.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 28 May 2014, 10:12

Or, as Spike Milligan once said, "What, what, what? Three 'whats'. That's not very bright."

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 14 Aug 2014, 22:22

Just ate a 425g tin of Pilchards in Tomato Sauce for dinner with toast and it was delicious. Sell by date was Aug 2011 lol and yes I still feel fine - 4 hours later. Yum yum.

Still fine at lunchtime next day

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 16 Aug 2014, 00:50

Think about the poor sod that has to set the "sell by" date on his product. He or she needs to be sure no customer gets green around the gills by eating his product even one day before the sell by date on the package. At the same time they have absolutely no control over how there product has been stored anytime after it left their plant. They might assume that shippers and retail outlets exercised reasonable measures to maintain the quality of their inventory but who can guess if the purchaser left the product in their car in the mall parking lot on the hottest day of the summer for four hours or stored it in an sweltering attic instead of the recommended "cool dry place" ? Needles to say , sell by dates are more then a bit conservative. Buy fresh stock with a sell by date that is as far out as you can find then haul it and pack it away as gently as you can and keep it under desirable conditions. You can then go quite a bit beyond the sell by dates with no harm to you and yours if needed. Exactly how much beyond would be a factor of the acidity of the package contents and the type of packaging.