Refrigerators can sometimes be mysterious places, even for us, the owners, as they can get so full that we have no idea which items are OK to eat, and which are long past their expiration dates.
And that happens because we tend to buy a lot of food, after all, who doesn’t love having everything they want to eat in their fridge, all the time. But the thing is, a lot of food gets thrown away after it goes bad because you forget you even have it.
But how can you tell which food has gone bad? Well, you probably do the old sniff test, check expiration dates, look for mold, but in reality, deciding what gets to stay in the refrigerator and what gets thrown away can be a huge challenge.
According to B. Susie Craig, professor of Food Safety and Health at Washington State University Extension in Seattle, “Most people are totally confused when they look in their refrigerator and try to decide whether to use the opened Caesar salad dressing or throw it out and [when generally] deciding what’s safe and what isn’t.”
As Craig has explained, it can be confusing even for him, even though he’s a professional. And there’s always the question, ‘does this even needed to be stored in the refrigerator in the first place?’
That’s how things become even more complicated, and it is normal to be a little confused, explains Don Schaffner, PhD, professor of Food Microbiology at Rutgers University. According to Schaffner, you need to consider both spoilage organisms and pathogens. Spoilage organisms exist in many foods and will result in making them look, smell and taste bad.
On the other hand, pathogens can’t be seen, but they can make you sick. as Schaffner has explained, there’s not an exact science when it comes to expiration dates. “Food companies use a value that they think will ensure happy customers, but it’s not like the food ‘magically’ turns bad at midnight on the date in question,” he added.
Read on to discover the 11 items in your refrigerator that you should throw away immediately, based on food safety reasons!
Make sure to also check: 14 Products To Avoid At Aldi.
