Risk taking with food

[Rebecca85]

I am about to eat a yoghurt that is not only 3 days past its use by date (that's use by not sell by- the food standards agency says food should not be consumed after the use by), but also been out of the fridge for a few hours and is no longer cold.

I'm not phobic about myself getting sick, only others, so I'm just wondering how different people's reactions are.

Edit: I seem to have messed up the poll. I wanted another question on there:
Do you think I will get sick from eating it? Yes or no?

[britishheather]

I wouldn't eat the yoghurt

[Midnight Dream]

I certainly would not eat the yogurt, especially not since it's out of date by 3 whole days!

E x

[olschesky]

i probably wouldn't eat it just because i know it would trigger anxiety........probably wouldn't make you sick though

[roadtofreedom]

with my eme. or not i wouldn't eat it, yogurt sucks

[KTB]

If it looks / smells ok, I'd probably eat it if it was just 3 days over. But not if it's been out of the fridge!

[becca44]

I wouldnt eat it, i dont eat or let my family eat food even on its sell by date, why risk getting sick, emet or not?

[kellybeth]

I would eat it 3 days after the sell by date. But I would not eat it if it has been out of the fridge and no longer cold.


So I wonder,,,,, did you eat it?

[Rebecca85]

Not only did I eat the yoghurt, but there was one more left in the pack so I ate that today (4 days past the date). To be honest, it doesn't usually occur to me that it is a risk eating them. Obviously I made sure they looked/smelled/tasted OK before I scoffed them. And when I say not cold, it was kept in my insulated lunch box, I don't mean it was warm, just not that straight from the fridge chill. I figure that use by dates are a relative new invention, before that people just used common sense. And it's not like the manufacturer can predict the exact day their products would go bad. So they put the use by date as the earliest it could go off. So I think of it as 'guaranteed safe until' rather than 'don't eat after this date'. Oh, and both yoghurts were sealed in individual portions, so less chance of contamination.

They were both delicious by the way!

Also out of interest, I wonder how different your reactions would have been if I posted 'OMG I ate a yoghurt and didn't see the date and it was 4 days over and it had been out the fridge and I just know I'm going to v'?

[becca44]

Ha ha, im sure there has been a panic post of that nature sometime in the past. I know deep down in my mind that eating something past its sell by date is ok to eat, my father does it all the time, including meat from the deli and is never ill (last time he vomited was before i was born and im 35!) but for me personally it would cause anxiety and i have enough of that as it is!

[Midnight Dream]

If I didn't suffer with an eating disorder then yes I probably would have eaten that yogurt as long as it didn't smell or look bad. My mum always told me a yogurt is always fine to eat unless the lid of the yogurt has bubbled up- then it's not any good and only good for the bin!

E x

[Rebecca85]

I'm feeling philosophical tonight. Are you really scared of being sick? Or are you scared of feeling scared? I mean, a couple of you have said you wouldn't eat the yoghurt, not because you might get sick, but because you would feel anxious.

I know for me, the anticipation of anxiety is often worse than the anxiety itself, I'm more likely to have a complete meltdown the second time someone vomits, because the first time often takes me by surprise!

[becca44]

After eating it i would spend about 6 hours worrying that the yoghurt would make me sick, probably anxious about any little gurgling noises in my stomach. This may seem irrational but lots of people i know (non emets) would not eat anything past its use by date and my ex was a notorious milk sniffer (even a just opened carton) which drove me insane, he was weird about milk, it stemmed from drinking curdled milk as a kid which made him violently sick. Even non emets/ocd/germaphobes have their quirks.

[gumdropper1]

The problem with yogurt is that after eating it, your mouth tastes like you've been puking.

[Midnight Dream]

I cannot stand the feeling of yogurt inside of me anyways, out of date or not! I think it's a horrible feeling >.<

E x

[person54321]

Dairy products are good for a week or so after the sell by date, yoghurt is generally safe a LOT longer than that. If it was a good flavor, I'd definitely eat it.

[4077girl]

Would I eat it? No. Would it make someone sick? Very very unlikely. I have (accidentally) drank curdled milk twice, and I don't mean a sip, I mean I had already chugged like half a glass before the taste/texture registered. I never even got a stomach ache. But I guess I don't like to tempt fate, so I'd probably toss it or give it to someone else.

[wanted]

Oops, I accidentaly clicked Yes, but of course I wouldn't eat that yogurt!
Once when we got home after traveling 6 hours, mom take out yoghurt from the car and I ate it. Then I realized what have I done and I was very scared, I was crying and my mom convinced me I will be ok but
I was too scared.. and finally, nothing was wrong with me, but I can't describe what I felt.