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German pensioner eats 64-year-old tub of lard


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A German pensioner who kept a tub of American lard in his cupboard for 64 years after receiving it in an aid package, has declard it is fit for consumption after a taste test.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9057331/German-pensioner-eats-64-year-old-tub-of-lard.html

Yummy! :hungry:

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Personal opinion coming up!

One of the biggest frauds being carried out today is the dating of foods, such as "Sell-By", "Use By", "Best By" on packaged foodstuff, especially canned and dried foods. People are tossing tons of food every year because of those dates. Food that is SAFE to eat. Food pantries reject food that has "expired" according to those dates, so people go hungry. People with low incomes waste their few dollars because they trust those dates and toss food that can still be safely eaten and enjoyed.

Unless recently changed, the only dating that has regulations behind it are the dates on baby foods. For the rest, those dates are decided by processors/distributors, using their own motives for those dates. Who decided that a bag of rice should "expire" in 18 months -- lab results or the sales & marketing department? BTW, rice, if properly stored, has a 30+ year shelf life. As does a number of other staples in the pantry. http://providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7798-1-4224-1,00.html

Canned foods are safe to eat as long as the seal isn't broken. The lard in the OP is an example. As a general rule, the nutritional quality of food will decline over time. Flavors of some foods will change, colors may darken, texture can change, all depending on the particular properties of the food itself. Fruits have a shorter shelf life, primarily because the acid in them will attack any metal in the container and break the seal. That applies to both commercially and homecanned fruits. However, that can or jar of applesauce is still fine to eat, as long as that seal isn't broken. So what, if it's lost 10% of the nutritional value and has turned a little dark. Toss the 90% remaining food value because of some date a manufacturer decided to use? Toss it because they want you to buy the next season's production run of applesauce?

Think about it the next time you decide to toss properly stored dry pasta or dry beans beause of a date. Yes, dried beans will have some nutritional loss and will take longer to cook, as they age. That's a given. However, to foster the thought, in the average person, those beans are no longer safe to eat is a fraud. No, the manufacturer's don't directly say they aren't safe, but the implication is there across the whole food industry. Sometimes I want to yell when I see expiration dates on foods with unlimited shelf life, again, if properly stored. Pure honey is an example.

Wish I had the time and space to dive into this subject in depth. How to store, how to identify hazards, glass vs plastic effect on storage, and so much more.

Time to get off my soapbox.

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Personal opinion coming up!

One of the biggest frauds being carried out today is the dating of foods, such as "Sell-By", "Use By", "Best By" on packaged foodstuff, especially canned and dried foods. People are tossing tons of food every year because of those dates. Food that is SAFE to eat. Food pantries reject food that has "expired" according to those dates, so people go hungry. People with low incomes waste their few dollars because they trust those dates and toss food that can still be safely eaten and enjoyed.

Unless recently changed, the only dating that has regulations behind it are the dates on baby foods. For the rest, those dates are decided by processors/distributors, using their own motives for those dates. Who decided that a bag of rice should "expire" in 18 months -- lab results or the sales & marketing department? BTW, rice, if properly stored, has a 30+ year shelf life. As does a number of other staples in the pantry. http://providentlivi...-4224-1,00.html

Canned foods are safe to eat as long as the seal isn't broken. The lard in the OP is an example. As a general rule, the nutritional quality of food will decline over time. Flavors of some foods will change, colors may darken, texture can change, all depending on the particular properties of the food itself. Fruits have a shorter shelf life, primarily because the acid in them will attack any metal in the container and break the seal. That applies to both commercially and homecanned fruits. However, that can or jar of applesauce is still fine to eat, as long as that seal isn't broken. So what, if it's lost 10% of the nutritional value and has turned a little dark. Toss the 90% remaining food value because of some date a manufacturer decided to use? Toss it because they want you to buy the next season's production run of applesauce?

Think about it the next time you decide to toss properly stored dry pasta or dry beans beause of a date. Yes, dried beans will have some nutritional loss and will take longer to cook, as they age. That's a given. However, to foster the thought, in the average person, those beans are no longer safe to eat is a fraud. No, the manufacturer's don't directly say they aren't safe, but the implication is there across the whole food industry. Sometimes I want to yell when I see expiration dates on foods with unlimited shelf life, again, if properly stored. Pure honey is an example.

Wish I had the time and space to dive into this subject in depth. How to store, how to identify hazards, glass vs plastic effect on storage, and so much more.

Time to get off my soapbox.


Good post OT.

Our previous pastor was brought up in a small village where his father was the owner of the village shop. He said the always ate out of date food.

We often go to our supermarket about 8.30-900 pm when they reduce food that is marked with that date, to a fraction of the price. Some of the vegetables last for weeks. We freeze the meat and use it later.
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Yes, great post on the food date gimmick! Here I thought I was one of the few who notices the fraud and the damage caused because of it. My sister is big on getting rid of food that is past whatever date is on the container. Thankfully she usually calls me and asks if I want it. She was abou to toss out a whole freezer of meat one year because she couldn't remember for sure when she bought it. Our Mom was still alive at that time and she told my sister to ask if I wanted it. I took one look at the meat, which had been frozen since purchase, and it looked good so took it all. As it turned out, every bit of the meat was good, not even freezer burn anywhere.

It used to be commonly taught and known that if the seal is good, the food inside is still good. Since they came out with these seemingly arbitrary dates which imply the food is no longer good or safe, that information seems to have been lost.

That is a very good point about how many people go without food because of those misleading dates on products. If I was truly hungry I know I wouldn't worry about a box of mac & cheese that said it exprired a couple months ago or that bag of navy beans that has an older date on it. Instead, tons of food goes to the dump which could safely be eaten by millions.

Several years ago a friend managed a nearby 7-11 and he would let me know when they were doing their date checks to remove stuff they could no longer sell because of those dates. Only a very few items had to be returned to get their refund, the rest was to be tossed out. That's what I took home!

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I grow corn, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, leaf lettuce, onions, and sometimes peppers. Of course we can't can the lettuce but the rest we freeze and can and eat. I'm going to add an asparagus bed one of these days.

The stuff from the store...
If it's been opened in the refrigerator and it has green/gray/orange fur on it...I toss it :vomit:
Milk, passing "the date" I watch/smell closely...I don't like to throw out my cereal because of spoiled milk.

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I grow corn, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, leaf lettuce, onions, and sometimes peppers. Of course we can't can the lettuce but the rest we freeze and can and eat. I'm going to add an asparagus bed one of these days.

The stuff from the store...
If it's been opened in the refrigerator and it has green/gray/orange fur on it...I toss it :vomit:
Milk, passing "the date" I watch/smell closely...I don't like to throw out my cereal because of spoiled milk.

I always smell milk before I use it, no matter what the date says.
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I grow corn, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, leaf lettuce, onions, and sometimes peppers. Of course we can't can the lettuce but the rest we freeze and can and eat. I'm going to add an asparagus bed one of these days.

The stuff from the store...
If it's been opened in the refrigerator and it has green/gray/orange fur on it...I toss it :vomit:
Milk, passing "the date" I watch/smell closely...I don't like to throw out my cereal because of spoiled milk.


I have a small asparagus bed. I grew the plants from seed, I have had one spear so far this year, and several are coming. I hope to expand the bed this year.
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I always smell milk before I use it, no matter what the date says.


Here, it is usual to have pasturised milk. but on the continent that can be hard to findas they usually have UHT, I think that stands for Utterly Horrible Taste,
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Here, it is usual to have pasturised milk. but on the continent that can be hard to findas they usually have UHT, I think that stands for Utterly Horrible Taste,


We use the same version :coverlaugh: .
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I did throw out a bunch of outdated cans/food recently, but it was stuff I got from my grandmother's house - 10 years out of date!

Invicta, do your old herbs still have any flavor?


Yes, but they do go brown.


Even salt has a use by date, and I knew someone who wouldn't use a salt pot because it was a bit out of date.
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