11/17 How much should I worry about the expiration date on a package
of Tofu in my fridge. Its medium firmness, and it expired in late
october. I was hoping to use it in miso soup... is it too far
gone? How can I tell? -mrauser
\_ The following formula works REALLY well for me. If all things
are equal (assuming they've been refrigerated properly
during transit), then:
* If it is a Japanese brand Tofu (Asumi, etc) then you can
add 1 week past the expiration date and still be safe
* If it is a Mainland Chinese brand, then minus 10 days
from the expiration date
* If it is a Taiwanese brand, then minus 7 days from the
expiration date
This works very well for tofu, soy milk, etc. Basically,
the Chinese/Taiwanese brands have standards that barely
pass the US government requirements and the Japanese brands
in general surpass the Japanese government standards.
\_ My wife, (a Korean Tofu Expert) says, Assuming the package is
sealed, it's probably ok. Just open it up and do a sniff test.
If it smells ok, do a small taste test. If it doesn't taste funny
it's fine. -jrleek
\_ How much is not being sick worth to you in comparison to
saving money by not discarding questionable food? I tend to
be really conservative when it comes to food. 99.99% of the
time it'll be fine, but that 1 time in 10000 when you get sick?
VERY unpleasant. --PeterM
\_ While I agree it's a good idea to be cautious when it
comes to food, the expiration date is not an absolute
mark. I've had food that gone bad before the date, and
have food that lasted longer. It all depends on the type
of food and how large is the standard-deviation of the
expiration date. While we are a fortunate that we can
simply discard foods that may be bad, think about all
the other less fortunate people on this planet. If it
doesn't look and smell and taste bad, then it probably
isn't. Don't throw out stuff just because the expiration
date had passed and create unnecessary garbage in the
world. In the end, what matters is how large of a
footprint we leave on this planet and whether it can
sustain the garbage creating lifestyle we have.
batteries as well.
\_ Basically correct. Now, tofu is a little more perishable
than most food with experation dates, so you might be a bit
more careful with it, but I'd bet that the tofu was probably
packaged 2 months before the date. It's not like it magically
goes bad once it hits the ex date. Be careful with all food,
but chucking something just because it's past an arbitrary date
is a waste of time and money. -jrleek
\_ I had House Tofu (Japanese), medium firm. I think it was two months
past. It smelled funny. I cooked it anyway. It tasted funny. It
had gone bad. I have great regret.
\_ And a laptop and a wireless connection, I'm guessing.
\_ Does that mean you got sick, or just that it didn't taste good? |