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The mum shared on that she was shocked when a school mum shamed her for feeding her kids snacks that were past their ‘best before’ dates.

Speaking in a closed Facebook group, the mum said she made the confession to the school mum – but was shocked to hear her disapproving reaction, saying ‘I feel like I was judged.’

‘So a quick question I told a Mum at School I liked shopping at Tribe Of Judah (cheap cereal chocolate lcm bars etc) for School snacks as they are cheap due to being past best before.

‘The Mum turns around and tells me I would never feed my children food that’s past its use by, I feel like I was judged.’

‘I found there’s nothing wrong with the products they are full of sugar and I feel the sugar helps preserve them haha and I do struggle for $ at the moment so it worked out the cheapest.’

out of date

The mum received overwhelming support from fellow shoppers in the Facebook group.

Even those mums that agreed that they wouldn’t feed their kids foods past their best before dates, they still showed the mum support.

Better Health Victoria says, “Within reason, provided the food looks and smells as you would expect, it should be safe to eat, even if the best-before date has passed. Keep an eye on the ‘use-by’ or ‘best before’ dates on the food in your cupboards. Don’t eat any food that is past its ‘use-by’ date, even if it looks and smells okay.”

They add a couple of things to remember include:

  • Best-before dates give you an idea of how long foods will last before they lose quality.
  • Most products will last beyond their best-before date if they are stored properly.
  • Foods marked with a use-by date must be consumed before that date.

Do you worry about dates on food?

Share your comments below

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  • Best before items can certainly last longer than the date. Use by can be a bit iffy and depends on the product. I use milk past it’s use by if it smells okay, never had a problem. Last many more days than the date says.

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  • Depends on how the product but usually just use by dates.

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  • I surely check the expiring date, but depending on the products I still eat them. I don’t risk with fresh meat though.

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  • If it says ‘use by’ then I generally won’t eat it, if it ‘best before’ and it still looks ok then we eat it. It is only a date given by the manufacturer to say that their product will definitely be good up until that date not that it will be off by that date. My daughter is a stickler for dates though, she won’t touch anything after the date that’s on the packet!

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  • I feel for this Mum but I also understand her predicament, lunch box items can be so expensive

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  • My kids are date warriors so may not eat them although it does depend what it is

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  • Depends on the type of product, fresh produce (like diary, meat, veggies & fruit) I wouldn’t use over date. Although some things like an orange can be fine after the best before date.

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  • Wrong. It was best before not used by. People shouldn’t shame others


    • I agree – shaming over this issue is so unkind in every way.

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  • If it’s 12 months or more then I piff but unless it taste funny or the texture has change then I don’t really care less.

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  • It depends how long past the” best before” the date is. Some things do lose their nutritional value, depending on what they are some go soft, some taste horrible.

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  • Best before is different to used by so if it’s best before then it’s still ok to eat.

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  • I prefer to buy in date foods but i do shop at NQR for the cheaper prices

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  • I’m really careful about dairy and meat, but there are some dried foods where a day or two – or a week or two – wont make much difference.

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  • Unfortunately some people will always judge.

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  • I wouldn’t do it but each their own……

    Reply

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