Can you tell if the food is spoiled?

[HermitCrab]

I have had food poisoning once & want to avoid ever having it again. My general rule is to eat refrigerated leftovers within 1 day. If the amount in question is too much, then I’ll freeze a portion; which I write the contents and date on so as to keep track.
I stopped using those supposed freezer plastic bags. They are just as porous as the thin one & freezer smell still goes into them. Plus they’re bad for the envitonment. Instead, I wrap the food first in wax paper then very tightly in al foil. Most food will taste fine if used within a month, when wrapped like this & frozen. The only frozen food I keep longer than that is homemade chicken/veggie stock in glass canning jars.

Wax paper sounds great. I will try it and have both me and my partner taste to see if it's good here. Thanks!

 

[unperson]

yuh, I'm currently using freezer bags, but this is a good tip!

 

[Au Naturel]

Most expiration dates are imaginary anyhow. Grocery stores throw away billions of dollars of "expired" food that is perfectly good every year. There are charities that specialize in salvaging this food. (See Second Harvest.) I don't worry about printed expiration dates on cans and boxes but if you do, don't just chuck it. Give it away to a charity.

If something looks or smells or tastes strange, chuck it. Your senses are a far better indicator than a number stamped on a package.

Rinse off your vegetables and fruit. The food itself won't make you sick but the surface germs from being in the ground or the people who handle it might. It is really easy to see if a plant food has gone bad.

All the sanitation rules for handling raw meat need to be followed. If you have reptiles as pets, be sure to wash your hands before handling food. Reptiles can harbor salmenella.

Food in the freezer never goes bad as long as it stays cold. (It may dry out or get freezer burn.) Don't defrost it until before you are ready to eat it.

Food in a can on a shelf lasts for many years. Check the can to see if it is bulging or has a leak. Packaged dry food (grain-based) can be infested by weevils and other bugs. Bugs can chew right through a wax paper or plastic wrapper. For long-term storage, freeze them in a sealed plastic bag for a few days before putting them on the shelf because most uncooked grain-based products contain weevil eggs and this will kill them. Weevil infestation is really obvious, so don't worry about it

Keep your fridge around 34-35 F (2 C). Keep your freezer as cold as it will go. If you tend to have empty space, fill it up with water bottles that are 90% full (so they don't burst when frozen). That adds thermal mass so it doesn't cool off as quickly should the power go down.

If you lose power for more than a few hours, toss all the uncooked meat in the fridge. A full freezer can stay cool for a day or more if you don't open it. While the power is down, don't open the fridge or freezer unless absolutely necessary because that will cause everything to warm faster. Here's a handy chart for how long food stays safe if power is gone.

Food Safety During Power Outage

 

[Luca]

I have had food poisoning once & want to avoid ever having it again. My general rule is to eat refrigerated leftovers within 1 day. If the amount in question is too much, then I’ll freeze a portion; which I write the contents and date on so as to keep track.
I stopped using those supposed freezer plastic bags. They are just as porous as the thin one & freezer smell still goes into them. Plus they’re bad for the envitonment. Instead, I wrap the food first in wax paper then very tightly in al foil. Most food will taste fine if used within a month, when wrapped like this & frozen. The only frozen food I keep longer than that is homemade chicken/veggie stock in glass canning jars.

Yes, I do this too!
I always write the date on containers of food that I freeze or even put in the fridge, in bold marker so it's more visible than the expiration date on the packaging, or if it didn't come packaged or I cooked it myself (chicken, meat, fruits/veggies, takeout food, etc... and juice and smoothies too).
Food poisoning is horribly unpleasant... the worst I ever had it was actually from a restaurant tho, not even expired food! And fast food usually makes me sick, I can't handle it... possibly because I'm used to eating healthy stuff or more natural stuff since I don't care a whole lot about taste (I'm starting to for some reason tho, but still can't stomach Burger King or McDonalds The worst I'll eat is takeout Chinese food or Mexican food because I seem to crave spice.)
I have a very strong gag reflex and even the smell of bad food makes me throw up. So I don't usually have to worry about eating it, lol. One time though I drank bad coffee that had been sitting out overnight without smelling it first... yeah, not very smart. I got really sick.
With that said, I currently have some food in my fridge that probably needs to be thrown out. Thank you everyone for reminding me. Lol

 

[Mary Terry]

Great ideas about food safety here. I'm very picky about cleanliness in the kitchen and throw away food if I have any doubt whatsoever about safety. I throw away anything in the freezer that is over 6 months old. I don't trust anything older than that.

A few other suggestions:

When I buy block cheese encased in plastic wrapping, I remove the plastic and wrap the cheese in wax paper, then store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator. It lasts a lot longer because the cheese can "breathe" and won't sweat like cheese stored in plastic wrap. I don't buy pre-shredded cheese because I don't like the weird stuff they add to it to prevent it from clumping and prefer to shred my own cheese.

Organic milk lasts a lot longer than regular milk. I don't know why. Look at the expiration dates on milk at the grocery store before you buy and get the container that has the longest time left before it expires.

Freeze butter or margarine. Defrost in the 'fridge as needed.

I wash all vegetables but pay extra attention to greens - lettuces and any kind of leafy green vegetables - even if they are supposedly washed before I buy them. I clean the sink, fill it with water and add a huge handful of plain salt or half a cup of white vinegar to the water, soak the greens for at least 5 minutes, rinse several times with clean, cold water and then spin dry in a salad spinner. Washed greens can be stored in a container left slightly open so condensation can dissipate instead of causing the greens to rot in the 'fridge.

 

[Au Naturel]

I'm partial to lactose-free milk. If you look on the carton, it usually has a "use by" date much later than regular milk. It is always ultrapasteurized.

"Ultra pasteurized" milk has 3 times more shelf life than regular pasteurized milk.

 

[unperson]

I also use shelf milk, rather than fresh, I never have to go to the shop, just for milk.