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Why You Shouldn't Believe 'Best Before' Dates On Food, And What You Can Still Eat

9 Foods That You Really Don't Need To Throw Away
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By 

Jessica Elgot is Assistant News Editor at The Huffington Post UK

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A customer looks at the price of an item displayed for sale on a shelf inside a Tesco Metro store
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Tesco has revealed that 28,500 tonnes of food has been thrown away in the first six months of this year, including two-thirds of produce grown for bagged salad is thrown out.

It also revealed families are wasting around £700 of food a year.

But why? Are 'best before' dates to blame? A lack of food education? Or don't people trust their own sense of smell and sight any more?

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Here are some of the most common food myths, and solutions to food waste. Got any tips? Tell us in the comments..

Food Waste: What You Can Do
'Best Before' doesn't mean 'Throw Away After..'(01 of10)
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Hilary Benn, the former environment minister, said people should ignore "best before" labels and decide for themselves if food is still good.Benn said in 2009 that "best before" dates served little useful purpose and could be cheerfully ignored - they just mean when the food is at its freshest.He said: "There's 'use by' and that's very important because that's food safety; but when it comes to 'sell by' or 'best before', I think we as consumers [need to] understand better what those labels mean.| (credit:Getty Images)
Eggs last a lot longer than you think(02 of10)
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The Mail commissioned the West Yorkshire-based FoodTest Laboratories to compare batches of Lion eggs, bought at Tesco.The company kept two batches of eggs for a fortnight, one at room temperature, the other at a typical fridge temperature of 6c. Samples from both batches were regularly tested eg. for E.coli, salmonella, listeria. There was no difference whatsoever between the two batches. Both remained bacteria-free and good to eat. (credit:PA)
You can probably eat mouldy salami(03 of10)
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The US Department of Agriculture says as long as you scrub the mould off, then it's totally fine."It is normal for products like this to acquire surface mould," the Safe Food Handling fact sheet says.Don't eat any mouldy cooked meat though, for god's sake. (credit:Getty Images)
And some kinds of mouldy cheese(04 of10)
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For cheeses where mould isn’t part of the processing, mold generally can’t get deep into the product. For hard cheeses, such as Asiago, Pecorino, Parmesan and Cheddar, lop off at least 1 inch around and below the mold spot (to avoid cross-contamination, be careful not to touch the mold with the knife).Source: USDA (credit:Getty Images)
And "firm" fruit and veg, even if it's a bit mouldy(05 of10)
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So think, cabbage, peppers, carrots. Like the cheeses, dense fruits and vegetables are not easily penetrated by mould. The same rule of thumb applies to firm produce: cut off at least an inch around and below the mould spot (again, not touching the mold with your knife) before using.Source USDA (credit:Getty Images)
You can pretty much ignore sell-by-dates on canned food(06 of10)
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As long as it smells OK and looks OK when you open it.There have been cases where canned food survived almost 100 years with no microbial growth whatsoever. (credit:AP)
Butter lasts way past its sell-by-date(07 of10)
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According to the experts at Still Tasty, butter lasts about 2 weeks after its expiration date. Frozen butter lasts up to 9 months longer. (credit:PA)
Pickles basically last for a year(08 of10)
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Open jars of pickles stay good for a whole year in the refrigerator. The same goes for olives and capers, according to Still Tasty. (credit:Getty Images)
Most spices last 2-3 years past their expiration date(09 of10)
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There's absolutely no need to throw them out before then, according to EatByDate.com (credit:Getty Images)
Bagged salads? Don't go there(10 of10)
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Why buy bag salads? OK, they are way more convenient, but more expensive and they spoil much quicker.Tesco found that two-thirds of produce grown for bagged salad is thrown out. (credit:Getty Images)
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