dinner anxiety

[alesh31]

So I had a bag of shredded mild cheddar in my fridge that i sort of re-discovered and i opened it, wasn't moldy, smelled it, smelled normal, tasted it, tasted fine. I looked at the expiration date and it said March 2014--perfect! So I put the cheese in a quesadilla and while I'm cooking it I happen to look at the bag again and on the back it says, "use within 5-7 days after seal has been broken." Did I eat expired cheese? VERY expired cheese? how could it look and smell perfectly fine? will it get me sick? please help

[Felle]

If it didnt taste or smell dodgy, you'll probably be fine. x

[butterfly91]

Supermarkets always put 'use within 4 days' etc on the back of food, it doesn't mean it's unsafe to eat if you don't use it in that time, its just a recommendation i think, but if it looked ok and smelt ok than it was probably fine to eat, and if u cooked it all the bad bacteria would of been killed anyway, if there was any on it

[lemontree]

When cheese goes bad it molds and/or smells really bad. The use within 5 days is probably more for freshness than for safety.

[staystrongxx]

If it looked and smelled fine it was definitely fine. If it was bad, there would most likely be mold on it.

[mamacat]

I know I have eaten cheese before that has been open more than 5-7 days. I have always been perfectly fine. It's probably just a ploy by the supermarkets to get us to buy more cheese! LOL You will be okay.