Cornmeal expiration

[dc2123]

I have some stone ground blue corn meal that has expired 4/11/14

It has never been opened. I was wondering if it was still safe to use. And if so how long after I open it will it last?

 

[Dawgluver]

I would use it. It won't poison you, and April was pretty recent!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

ditto

 

[Somebunny]

This is the thing that bothers me about expiration dates......I'm sorry but there is no science that can pinpoint with that much accuracy. So it's guaranteed fresh on April 30 but not May 1??? Grrrrr! Okay vent over. I wouldn't hesitate to use it. If it is stale then it could have just as easily have been stale 5 days before the expiration date. Oops! I think I was venting again.

 

[dc2123]

Ok. Also what about Whole Wheat Flour? That has expired February 27.

I work at Whole Foods so I get a lot of these things for free, just never looked at the expiration dates

 

[jennyema]

Whole wheat flour will smell a bit rancid if it's past it's prime.

The April cornmeal will be fine to use. It also will smell "off" if it's too old.

 

[Oldvine]

I would use it. I have cornmeal in my freezer that "expired" a year ago. Unless the corn meal is contaminated with something nasty, it would be safe to eat. Eventually,the quality of the "expired" corn meal might go down a bit. But I've bought fresh stuff that had lousy quality and I wondered about it's safety. Before they came up with those tricky dates to encourage us to toss and by more stuff, we had to depend on our noses, eyes and taste buds.

 

[Zagut]

There are no magic numbers when it comes to food expiration dates.

4/11/14 is just a guesstimate from those who manufacture the product that it will still be up to whatever standard of quality they wish to be perceived as producing.

Is it safe?

Yes.

"And if so how long after I open it will it last?"

Was it packed in a paper package?
Was that package absolutely air tight?
Was the packaging it came in enough to ensure that nothing. Not even O2 could get past it's barrier?

I think you be alright letting it be a few more days at least. Use it and enjoy.

 

[GA Home Cook]

I work for a very large company that makes many food products. Most dates on products are really not expiration date, buth they "Best if used by date". In many cases these are proven dates over many many tested batches that assure the customer that under the many storage conditions out there, you should get the product flavor the way it was designed for X time. how long food is "good" has many factors from salt and fat content to the pH to how it was packaged. Mayo, made with eggs, has a much shorter shelf life than does dry soup. Keeping products cold and dry makes the "shelf life" much longer. but there is much science behind it and the best by dates are most likely far behind a date that would put the consumer in a danger by consuming it.

 

[FrankZ]

This was mentioned recently.

Trash It or Eat It? The Truth About Expiration Dates — Health Hub from Cleveland Clinic