"This is what gastro looks like": Mum sparks intense debate over milk’s use-by date
A Gold Coast mum’s unusual saving tip has sparked a great online debate on milk consumption.
The mother-of-three took to the Markdown Addicts Facebook group to share a picture of her out-of-date milk, writing that she and her family had been having the drink with no adverse effects.
“Just wanted to share because I know some people are funny with using MILK after expiry,” she wrote.
“This is two days over and it is still fine.
“Just because it’s marked down it doesn’t mean you have to consume on that day … this wasn’t a markdown but simply didn’t get used quick enough and not one of my 3 kids or ourselves have been sick.”
The post prompted discussions as to when milk should be thrown out, with many saying that it would be “wasteful” to always adhere to the stated expiry date.
“Never understood people who throw stuff away as soon as it hits the use by date without smelling/tasting it first. Such a waste! Most of the time it’s still totally fine for quite a while,” one wrote.
“My last two litre milk was expired a week ago. I always sniff it and taste it before using. It was fine to the last drop,” another added.
“Sometimes we don’t open a bottle until the day on the bottle. It lasts for days after. Just smell it,” one commented.
“Last week had milk that was five days past use by date and it was still good as gold,” one wrote.
Some agreed that they would drink the milk if it passed the “sniff test”.
However, others were more wary.
“Sorry, I don’t even have it the day before expiry,” one wrote.
“This is what gastro and projectile vomiting is caused from,” another claimed.
“Please ignore this advice especially if you have kids. Supermarket fridges have variable temps not like home fridges. Don’t give milk past its used by date to children they can potentially get very sick,” one added.
According to Food Standards Australia & New Zealand, foods cannot be legally sold and should not be consumed after the use-by date due to health or safety risk.
CSIRO applied food microbiology team leader Sandra Olivier told Yahoo News Australia that the case is “pretty black and white”.
“Don’t use a product past its use by date,” Olivier said. “If you drink milk past its use by date there’s no guarantee it’ll be safe.”