What to do if the expiration date has passed. 5 products that should be given a second chance

Many people are often confused about expiration dates, because the manufacturer often indicates two dates. Here and think whether you can still use the product or it’s time to throw it away. We have prepared a small instruction on how not to get confused by the inscriptions on the label and what you can do with expired items.

Plan your weekly menu rationally so you can eat your food before it goes bad.

Shelf life is the period during which products are preserved without losing their qualities. This means after the product loses its freshness but is still edible.

Can I use food if it is past its expiration date?

If the expiration date has passed and the product looks and smells suspicious, it is not advisable to eat it. After all, health is the most important thing and you should remember that.

Nata: Never try to “revive” a moldy product. It should be thrown out and the refrigerator cleaned clean, so that mold does not spread further and does not lead to severe food poisoning. The most common and dangerous mold fungus is Aspergillus. It appears as a fluffy growth (can be white, yellow or green) on bread, rice, jams, dried fish, peanuts, legumes, fruits and vegetables.

In the season of berries and garden fruits, you should not make jam from spoiled fruits, make compotes or use them as a filling for pies. Because even visually healthy parts can be contaminated with mycotoxins, which affect liver cells and provoke the development of cancer.

What products should be given a second life?

Some items after the expiration date retain the main properties and remain safe for the body.

Honey

According to GOST, the shelf life in tightly closed containers is one year, and in hermetically sealed containers – two years. After the expiration date, honey will change its qualities, that is, it will become saccharified. But you can use it (in its usual form or as an additive in baked goods), it will not harm the body.

Cheese

Hard cheese at the end of its shelf life (a couple of days before its end) can be grated and sent to the freezer to be used for cooking.

Milk, cottage cheese, sour cream.

Certified clinical geneticist, expert of the Academy of Physicians UniProf

During heat treatment, some useful properties of fermented milk products are lost, but the protein (an important microelement) remains. Therefore, you can always make, for example, casseroles, cheesecakes, fritters, quiche from sour yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream.

Greens, vegetables, fruits

Herbs and mushrooms, which are about to wilt, can be frozen. But before this, the products should be thoroughly washed and dried well on a cloth towel. Storage in the freezer allows you to save the vitamin composition, aroma and color of most types of greens.

Svetlana: Wilted greens can be used to make sauces by blending with nuts, cheese, olive oil and water in a mixer. Spoiled tomatoes and other vegetables are suitable for making vegetable stew, lecho, casserole, sauce.

Bread

Can be dried and then used to soften cutlets, meatballs, as a base for pies, for thickening sauces.