Dad Discovers Biscuits Given To Trick Or Treating Kids Were Actually 18 Years Out Of Date | HuffPost Life

'An awful, long-lingering bad taste.'

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Life editor at HuffPost UK

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A dad who sneakily helped himself to his daughters’ Halloween treats was pretty shocked when he realised biscuits they were given were 18 years out of date.

Adrian Johnson, from Leeds, tweeted a photo of the McVitie’s milk chocolate digestives that had a best before date of 15 May 1999.

“Think I’ve just eaten a biscuit (from a packet given to our kids while trick or treating) that went out of date 18 years ago,” he wrote on 31 October.

“Not joking.”

Speaking to HuffPost UK, Johnson said the biscuits had “just an awful, gone-off, long-lingering bad taste.”

Johnson, founder of PR agency UMPF, said he thought the first mouthful of the biscuit was “weird”, but it wasn’t until his second bite he knew there was something definitely wrong with them.

“So I sniffed them, looked at the biscuit side, which was quite white rather than the usual brown-ish colour, and it was then that I checked the sell-by date,” he said.

“That second bit ended up in the sink and I had to rinse my mouth and brush my teeth. Pretty gross.”

AdrianJohnson

The offending biscuit.

Johnson explained this was quite late in the evening, so he didn’t go round to the neighbours who gave his daughters the biscuits.

“I might pop round tonight when I get back home,” he said. “More for their sake, than to complain, as who knows what else they’re keeping in their cupboards.

“My kids, Poppy and Eidy, found it hilarious this morning when I told them the story, as they were asleep when it all happened.

“They did point out that I shouldn’t have been pinching their Halloween treats in the first place!”

Too right.

Before You Go

13 Creepy Abandoned Places You'll Want To Avoid At Halloween

St Joseph's Orphanage and Hospital, Preston(01 of13)

St Joseph’s Orphanage was opened in 1872 and St Joseph’s Hospital for the Sick Poor opened five years later.

The buildings have seen a number of uses, caring for orphans, tending to soldiers injured in both World Wars, acting a maternity unit and finally being used as a care home.

It has now been empty for more than a decade, although Preston City Council is said to be drawing up residential conversion proposals for the site with the owner.

Fears have been raised over the crumbling gothic building though and the Victorian Society featured it on their endangered buildings list. (credit:Chris Hills/Flickr)

Leybourne Grange Mental Asylum, Kent(02 of13)

The hospital was built in 1936, incorporating the older manor house, for up to 1,200 patients with mental illness and severe learning difficulties.

The site included a main hall, hospital wing, hairdressers and in later years a swimming pool. The church yard near the old hospital contains the grave of John Down, a doctor who became well known for his description of the condition known as Down’s Syndrome.

It finally closed in 1996 and parts of the site were converted into housing. (credit:PaulFlickr)

Hellfire Caves, Buckinghamshire(03 of13)

These creepy caves were dug by hand in the 1700s, although a chalk mine of ancient origin is said to have existed above West Wycombe for centuries.

The caves were used as a meeting place for the notorious Hellfire Club. These meetings were rumoured to involve a number of extremely high-profile figures taking place in strange rituals and sexual debauchery.

The caves were abandoned from the 1780s until the 1940s and although they are now open to the public to explore, there are several fenced-off areas. To be honest, we wouldn’t go there on Halloween for all the money in the world. (credit:johnantoniFlickr)

High Royds Hospital, West Yorkshire(04 of13)

The hospital was opened in 1888 as the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum and included facilities including a library, surgery, dispensary, butchery, dairies, bakery, shop, upholster's and cobbler's workshops. It even had its own small railway which connected to the Wharfedale railway line.

The hospital eventually closed in 2003.

A particularly sinister connection is that reports into the abuse carried out by Jimmy Savile noted he had assaulted someone at the hospital during its 100th anniversary celebrations. (credit:LulaTaHulaFlickr)

Loudoun Castle, Ayrshire(05 of13)

This abandoned site is doubly spooky. The castle itself dates back to the 12th century - but its crumbling ruins also featured as part of a theme park.

The Loudon Castle park closed in 2010 after just 13 years in operation, despite millions being poured into its upkeep.

A number of attractions from the derelict park have been relocated elsewhere but many of the original features, such as now-rusted rollercoaster track, still stand to this day. (credit:Gary McNair/Flickr)

Aldwych Underground Station, London(06 of13)

Aldwych used to be a terminus stop on the Piccadilly line but was never a popular station.

One of its tunnels served as a safe place for items from the British Museum, including the Elgin Marbles during the Second World War.

Its opening was reduced to just weekday peak hours in 1962 and it finally closed in 1994 when the cost of replacing the original 1907 lifts was judged too high to justify.

The London Transport Museum runs a limited number of tours of the station but being alone in here on Halloween sounds downright terrifying. (credit:diamond geezer/Flickr)

Imber, Wiltshire(07 of13)

The entire population of Imber was evicted from their village in 1943 so American troops preparing for the invasion of Europe could carry out training exercises there.

The Ministry of Defence still controls the site and visitors may only enter the village on designated open days.

Many former villagers have pushed to be allowed back to Imber over the years but their requests were denied. As a compromise, the church is still maintained and opened for worship once a year. (credit:Ben Birchall/PA Wire)

Camelot Theme Park, Lancashire(08 of13)

There’s something especially creepy about abandoned theme parks.

Camelot opened in 1983 and lasted until 2012 when its rides, including five rollercoasters and a ghost train, ground to a halt for the last time.

You wouldn’t catch us dead in there on Halloween. (credit:Lee Russell/Flickr)

Maunsell Sea Forts, Thames Estuary(09 of13)

These armed towers appeared in the Thames and Mersey estuaries during WW2.

They were decommissioned in the late 1950s and some used for other activities including pirate radio broadcasting.

An unrecognised micro nation, the Principality of Sealand, claimed one of the forts and was occupied by family and associates of Paddy Roy Bates.

They still look like a War Of The World-style nightmare to us. (credit:Richard Brown via Getty Images)

Severalls Hospital, Essex(10 of13)

The hospital opened in 1910, with capacity for 2,000 psychiatric patients.

Medics at the hospital were apparently given free reign to try out experimental treatments on patients, including EXT and lobotomies.

The hospital finally closed in 1997, although it ceased to function as a psychiatric hospital in the early 1990s. (credit:Rob Walker/Flickr)

Hallsands, Devon(11 of13)

This small fishing village used to be protected from the sea by and sand and shingle beach but this was lost following a major dredging operation nearby in 1897.

The tides and easterly winds began inflicting more and more damage upon the properties of Hallsands over the following decades, until the villagers ultimately abandoned their home.

A few boarded-up buildings remain among the shells of other buildings. (credit:Robin Byles/Flickr)

North Wales Hospital, Denbighshire(12 of13)

The hospital was completed in 1848 but by the early 1900s it had been expanded to house around 1,500 patients and staff.

It finally closed completely in 1995.

Paranormal television show Most Haunted has had a field day with the site, presenting a week of live broadcasts from the hospital in 2008. (credit:Robin Hickmott/Flickr)

Tyneham, Dorset(13 of13)

Tyneham was left frozen in time when its 225 residents were ordered to leave in 1943.

The village was taken over by the armed forces as a tank firing range ahead of D-Day.

Visitors still have the chance to wander among the abandoned buildings of the village on official open days. (credit:MDB 1/Flickr)

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