Don's Home Home & Garden food How to Tell Whether Expired Food Is Safe to Eat Contact

Foods past their prime often develop mold, bacteria, and yeast, causing them to give warning signs to your senses. Spoiled food will usually look different in texture and color, smell unpleasant, and taste bad before it becomes unsafe to eat.

Foodborne illness comes from contamination, not from the natural process of decay. That said, bacteria like listeria thrive in warmer temperatures, so it’s important to always keep your perishables refrigerated at the proper temperature. (The FDA says your fridge should be set no higher than 40° F. Consumer Reports' experts suggest setting it to 37° F.)

"According to Sana Mujahid, Ph.D., Cornell, manager of food-safety research at Consumer Reports, the best way to know whether a perishable food has spoiled is simply to “trust your taste buds and sense of smell.”

Source: How to Tell Whether Expired Food Is Safe to Eat | Consumer Reports">