Should we continue eating it?

April 13, 2009 12:15 PM

We've eaten about a half of a small box of expired cookies. Can we continue to eat them or should they be tossed?

They expired November 27th 2008. They taste fine and aren't soft at all, we just don't want to eat the whole box and end up sick in 4 hours.

If it is at all relevant the ingredients are: unbleached wheat flour, butter, semi sweet chocolate chips, brown sugar, cane sugar, palm oil, eggs, pure vanilla, and kosher salt.

We are inclined to think they are fine, but some confirmation from the hive would make us feel a bit better.

Thanks!

posted by heavenstobetsy to food & drink (26 comments total)

Was the bag sealed before you started eating them?
posted by jerseygirl at 12:19 PM on April 13

Sorry, that's sort of an important detail. They were completely sealed. The box itself and the plastic bag inside it.
posted by heavenstobetsy at 12:20 PM on April 13

Enjoy them then. Think you'll be okay.
posted by jerseygirl at 12:23 PM on April 13

Unless they have moist chunks of chicken in them, cookies are safe forever. I've eaten dramatically outdated cookies.

If you die from eating them you didn't hear this advise from me.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:23 PM on April 13 [4 favorites]

Does the date say "Expires on..." or "Best before"? If it's just a best before date, that just means that the product may not be of the same quality. I use that as my second judgment; my first judgment being if it smells good and tastes good, it's OK to eat.
posted by Sonic_Molson at 12:24 PM on April 13 [3 favorites]

Those cookies are great! You should eat them!
posted by Greg Nog at 12:24 PM on April 13

advice.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:24 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]

Eat them!
posted by tumples at 12:25 PM on April 13

I ate a cookie yesterday that was 5 years out of date and im still here!
posted by moochoo at 12:28 PM on April 13

I have a friend who works for a major cookie & snack company. He brings me free stale-dated stuff all the time. I can't tell the difference.
posted by rocket88 at 12:29 PM on April 13

If they were dry, there's not much pathogenic activity going on. Mold, maybe.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 12:41 PM on April 13

Dry baked goods like this can: 1) go rancid; 2) mold; and/or 3) get bugs in them. You'll be able to identify any of these conditions easily using your senses. If they seem fine, they are fine.
posted by magicbus at 12:47 PM on April 13

Those dates on packages are a "This item will still seem bakery-fresh if eaten before..." date, rather than a "This item will turn into a deadly toxin immediately after..." date.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:50 PM on April 13

Definitely enjoy those cookies.
posted by Burhanistan at 12:56 PM on April 13

Well, if it makes any difference it says "Enjoy by: 27 NOV 08". I'm assuming they're fine. If I'm wrong, rest assured I'll expend the last of my energy updating this thread.
posted by heavenstobetsy at 12:59 PM on April 13

If you don't, I will.
posted by cashman at 1:00 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]

No "tossing your cookies" jokes? Or are the admins zapping those in a flash?
posted by zadcat at 1:27 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]

After the Enjoy By date you're allowed to eat them, but it's actually illegal to enjoy them. If you're caught savoring, relishing or delighting in the flavor of these cookies, you will be arrested :)
posted by NoraReed at 1:28 PM on April 13 [2 favorites]

Packaged baked goods last a long, long time. In fact, there used to be this bakery thrift store that my friends and I would go to that sold past-the-expiry-date Hostess snack cakes for like a quarter of their normal price. I could never tell the difference, and we never got sick off of them.
posted by Greg Nog at 1:28 PM on April 13

This concept is strange to me. Cookies expire? Inconceivable.
posted by Gungho at 1:29 PM on April 13

The only substantive thing (besides staleness) that would be wrong with something like that is that the oils could go rancid. You would know this. You've probably already eaten them by now anyway! For future reference, to avoid food poisoning you have to decide not to eat something BEFORE eating half of it.
posted by nanojath at 1:36 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]

Well, if you're not sick now then why not?
posted by ob at 1:39 PM on April 13

Hey, cookies do go nasty if the fat goes rancid! But it's easy to tell. I opened a bag of expired cookies that had gone rancid and they smelled like industrial lubricant.
posted by PatoPata at 1:41 PM on April 13

You know, in World War 2 (and other like events) people used to mail home-baked cookies to the troops? It used to take a fair while for letters to be recieved, but people still ate the cookies. (I'm usually an advocate for, what? No! are you fucking stupid? Don't touch it.) Eat and enjoy.
posted by b33j at 2:28 PM on April 13

Just clear your cache.
posted by IAmBroom at 2:36 PM on April 13 [2 favorites]

I bet you're dead now.
posted by rxrfrx at 5:40 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]