Should I eat this? Ginger paste
February 5, 2018 8:24 AM Subscribe
There's a tube of very yummy looking ginger paste in our fridge at work. Its listed expiration date is October of 2016. It was never opened, still has its foil tab inside the cap, and has been in the fridge continuously with no power outages since it was purchased. It looks fine. Should I chance it? What's the worst thing that could happen with aged ginger paste?
Is it an expiration date, or a "Best By" date. There's a difference.
posted by SansPoint at 8:32 AM on February 5, 2018
posted by SansPoint at 8:32 AM on February 5, 2018
I'd never heard of ginger paste before so I looked it up. And according to EatbyDate, nope, toss it.
posted by clone boulevard at 8:40 AM on February 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by clone boulevard at 8:40 AM on February 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
I did some quick googling and it looks like ginger paste is pretty cheap so maybe you could use the $4 or whatever to buy a new tube of ginger paste and think of it as a lottery tickets where the prize is "not getting sick" and your odds of winning are very high.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:42 AM on February 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:42 AM on February 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: It's a best by date. Other ingredients include dextrose, glycerin, fructose, sodium ascorbate, citric acid, and xanthan gum.
(After reviewing clone boulevard's link though... guess not.)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:14 AM on February 5, 2018
(After reviewing clone boulevard's link though... guess not.)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:14 AM on February 5, 2018
Best answer: DirtyOldTown: If it's a Best By date, it's probably fine. EatbyDate is very conservative, and your ginger paste is still sealed. It might not be as strongly ginger-flavored now, but it still won't kill you.
posted by SansPoint at 9:25 AM on February 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by SansPoint at 9:25 AM on February 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Usually with food past the sell-by date, if it looks good & smells good, you can taste a tiny bit and if it looks, smells and tastes good it is good. If there's ever the slightest bit of doubt, bin it.
posted by farlukar at 9:25 AM on February 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by farlukar at 9:25 AM on February 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: There is now way in hell ginger paste goes bad after 3 months in a freezer. Not in any way that makes it unfit for consumption.
So I don’t trust that site at all, because they are giving out unsupported bad information.
Seriously, that is simly incorrect info. The USDA clearly states that frozen foods are safe indefinitely.
Perhaps the flavor is not best, but they don’t say that, they just say it ‘expires’.
Anyway, my point is that site sucks. Eat the ginger or not, but not because of that site.
Me, I’d open it and smell it and taste it, and eat the rest assuming it smelled good. Ginger is highly antimicrobial/antiseptic.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:28 AM on February 5, 2018 [11 favorites]
So I don’t trust that site at all, because they are giving out unsupported bad information.
Seriously, that is simly incorrect info. The USDA clearly states that frozen foods are safe indefinitely.
Perhaps the flavor is not best, but they don’t say that, they just say it ‘expires’.
Anyway, my point is that site sucks. Eat the ginger or not, but not because of that site.
Me, I’d open it and smell it and taste it, and eat the rest assuming it smelled good. Ginger is highly antimicrobial/antiseptic.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:28 AM on February 5, 2018 [11 favorites]
Response by poster: I'm eating it. It tastes great and has greatly improved my packet of dry tuna.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:33 AM on February 5, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:33 AM on February 5, 2018 [12 favorites]
Yum! ... Off to the break room to see if there's anything in there besides packets of soy sauce from somebody's last Chinese takeout order ...
posted by virago at 9:59 AM on February 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by virago at 9:59 AM on February 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
October of 2016
after 3 months in a freezer
Not that that would make a huge difference since it is still sealed, but it has been in the fridge 15 "extra" months, not the freezer for 3 months. Despite my best efforts and grumbling, it is 2018.
posted by soelo at 6:53 PM on February 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
after 3 months in a freezer
Not that that would make a huge difference since it is still sealed, but it has been in the fridge 15 "extra" months, not the freezer for 3 months. Despite my best efforts and grumbling, it is 2018.
posted by soelo at 6:53 PM on February 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
That eatByDate doesn't even have the tube ginger paste form at all so it isn't really relevant. I would have eaten the tube paste without any hesitation unless it had swelled and was leaking ginger juice.
posted by koolkat at 1:42 AM on February 6, 2018
posted by koolkat at 1:42 AM on February 6, 2018
USDA is absurdly conservative when it comes to food safety. If they say frozen foods are good indefinitely? You can eat that ginger paste in 2028 or maybe even 2118. (It would probably taste atrocious though.)
posted by elsietheeel at 10:41 AM on February 6, 2018
posted by elsietheeel at 10:41 AM on February 6, 2018
Response by poster: I've eaten this on my tuna every day this week and am not sorry. It's delicious.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:17 PM on February 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:17 PM on February 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by elsietheeel at 8:28 AM on February 5, 2018