Example? Expiration date rules on fruit cups.
I grabbed a fruit cup from my sister's pantry a while back, planning to bring it to work as a snack. Well, time passed and the fruit cup endured...4 months passed it's expiration date.
As I rushed to pack my lunch this morning, I grabbed the fruit cup out of desperation without bothering to look it over. Needless-to-say, I brought it for snack today and instantly gawked at the December 2011 date stamped on the lid.
What to do?
Without missing a beat I brought up a new window on my computer and promptly entered "do fruit cups expire?" and instantly got a plethora of hits.
Not only did I come across generalized "best by" vs. "expires" guidelines, but I came across postings between individuals discussing my very same predicament. The opinions on how long after the "best by" date that fruit cups were still edible were as varied as they were numerous. There was even a debate about the margin of error in terms of fruit cups with syrup, light syrup, and no syrup.
It was far more information than I ever expected and I was becoming increasingly irritated at the lack of consensus on the subject. After several minutes of reviewing a variety of opinions, I was still unsure of what to do. Some people seemed to think it would be okay and strongly believed that most expiration dates were grotesquely inaccurate anyway. Others seemed to stand by the dates used on fruit cups, citing horrific experiences of gastro-intestinal warfare that resulted from not minding the dates.
So, where is my fruit cup? In the trash.
Two lessons learned:
1) Check expiration dates before packing lunch.
and
2) Just because you can look up anything on the internet, doesn't mean you should. It can be an appalling waste of time.
K8
I still don't believe I actually decided to look this up, but it was gratifying to know I wasn't the first person to wonder about it.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I ate one of those little cups. Because I was careless, I overlooked an expiration date that was almost 18 months prior.
Believe it or not, I'm well educated.
My advice is to pitch them. Shortly after I consumed the fruit, I began to experience GI discomfort. I'll spare you the details, but I'm almost certain it was the fruit cup and not a 'bug'. Twenty-four hours later, I'm still under the weather.
Two lessons?
Check expiration dates and never think your question is too silly to research.
A