The Guy Who Lives on the Edge
Bizarre, food June 25th, 2010
We usually consider people who live on the edge as the types who enjoy thrill-seeking adventures such as skydiving, rock climbing or race car driving.
Tonight I met a guy who could beat them all.
He was going to buy a tub of sour cream.
Let me ‘splain.
I followed him to the courtesy counter at my grocery store. He had the sour cream in hand and I figured he’d be in and out of the line in no time at all. Spotting another container of sour cream peeking out of a bag on the counter, I realized he was there to make an exchange.
He told the cashier “I looked and looked and could only find this one.”
“Let me see,” said the cashier.
“But it’s just like all the others. They’re all expired,” the man reported. “This one is the most recent. June 21st.”
The cashier, not knowing exactly what to do about the exchange, stood there for a moment and said nothing.
I figured the next move she’d make is to give the guy his money back because he couldn’t find a tub that still had some time left on the clock.
But no.
He said “It’s only four days past expiration. If I smell it, I can tell if it’s still good yet.“
No, buddy. If you smell it and deem it safe, you may just find yourself in the ER a little later on.
Either because you ate it or because the wife who probably sent you back to the store to get a new one is going to kick you in the spleen for bringing home only a slightly less hazardous one.
Dude. Livin’ on the edge doesn’t always end well.
Stumble it!
June 25th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
I have happily eaten expired sour cream, yogurt and other dairy products. I consider it extra cultured and the bacteria in my tummy call me blessed.
Fun fact: the poo of breastfed babies smells like some sort of sour cream/buttermilk hybrid!
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June 25th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
I’ve eaten sour cream after the date too. I mean it’s already sour, right? As long as it doesn’t smell differently than fresh sour cream and doesn’t have an off color or anything growing in it, I’m okay with it.
I’m wondering what was wrong with his original tub of sour cream if he was exchanging it.
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June 25th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Hmmmm….he seemed to lack that aggressive gene that says “Give me my money back! And, oh, start stocking fresh sour cream!”
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June 25th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Wow. It must be tough, living in a town with only one store, with no other stores within a hundred miles, and no sour cream to be had except expired stuff. I had no idea you lived in Russia. 😉
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June 25th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
You mean they actually had out of date sour cream on the shelves? If it’s even close to the date most stores here sell it on special to clear it.
I know somebody who ate a yoghurt 1 week out of date and got food Poisoning! Any dairy product that’s more than 1 day out of date goes in my bin. I won’t risk it. Mo is slightly less fussy than me though – only slightly.
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June 25th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
Haha I feel so bad when customers bring back things we didn’t know were expired. I feel especially bad when it’s moldy and saw that they had taken a bite out of it.
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June 25th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
I was raised that once that date comes, whatever the product – dairy, bread, canned good, it goes in the trash. I live by this motto. I had a training class at my job, the trainer happened to mention that you can eat ANY PRODUCT after the date on the container; we had a heated disagreement about this. The statement was made that these are sell by dates, not don’t eat after dates. Personally I don’t care; if that date has passed it belongs in a landfil!
June 25th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
I’ve always wondered how you can tell when sour cream has gone sour…
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June 25th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Uck! There’s a store here in town that I swear they only have products that are within 3 days of the expiration date! Even the veggies looked suspect!
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June 25th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
People waste a LOT of perfectly good food because of those stupid SELL BY dates. I’ve had milk go bad prior to those dates. That usually means that someone along the route to the store cooler let it get too warm somewhere along the line or it was contaminated prior to the container being sealed.
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June 26th, 2010 at 3:28 am
Sour Cream! Ew, the thought of it just turns my stomach, I suppose it’s nice when added to a recipe, but to eat it on it own … Ew!
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June 26th, 2010 at 4:11 am
Wow! Some of you like living on the edge too!
Tracy — I’m amazed you do what you do. Dairy is the last thing I would eat past expiration. And I’m aware that breastfed baby poop is far easier to handle than when they move to solids. Like night and day, right?
Surfie — As with Tracy, I’m surprised you would eat dairy past expiration. I guess I’m just not very trusting of the “smell test.” I think he brought back the first tub because that, too, was past expiration. He should have just given up. I left the counter before knowing what he did about it. Maybe the one he got was newer than the first one. But still.
Pop and Ice — It seemed odd to me he would even try to leave with one of the tubs. He must have been desperate to take something home. I suspect he was sent back by his wife because she really needed it for a recipe. I was mad for him that our store had cream that old. Doesn’t anyone check that?
Marvin — Seriously. He must have been in a terrible hurry and not wanting to go to another store we have only blocks away. I swear, he really wanted to leave with one of them. I didn’t hang around long enough to find out.
Babs Beetle — Apparently. You’d think dairy would get a really good review for expirations. I can see bread going out of date or other dry goods, but anything in the milk family should really be looked at more frequently. I’m with you. One day out and it’s in the trash!
Cashier — Oh, that’s nasty. I’d feel bad too.
Melissa K — That’s the problem. Some manufacturers use a “use by” date, while others print a “sell by” date. If you don’t notice or don’t know how many days you have left after “sell by” I can see people throwing lots of food out.
Grace — Probably if it smells like something. I’ve always thought that sour cream shouldn’t smell like anything.
Anna — It’s frustrating, isn’t it? I don’t like buying veggies from my “regular” store. The more upscale one down the street seems to get better stuff and a wider variety. Not that I’m a vegetable junkie, mind you. I’m not often fully stocked here.
Moonshadow — I’ve noticed that too on occasion. You really never know how refrigerated a dairy product is along its route. You hope…
Karen at Blazing Minds — I feel the same way. I only ever use it for dip mix.
June 26th, 2010 at 5:06 am
Even IF it’s still ok, is he going to use it all at once? And I question the grocery store. Why do they have food 4 days past the expiration date on the shelf?? This store keeps all shoppers on their toes, huh?
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June 26th, 2010 at 5:39 am
Have you ever seen the “Hoarders” show where the woman says as long as the food isn’t puffed up in the container it is okay? Or also, putting it in the freeze stops the expiration date? She had food years out of date in there! ::shudders::
When my Mommeh buys stuff like that, she searches through the stock to find the ones with the longest expiration date, and leaves the older stuff there. That might be a little bit Wrong of her.
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June 26th, 2010 at 7:48 am
Now I’m in the mood for a baked potato! And it’s not even 9am.
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June 26th, 2010 at 7:48 am
Now I’m in the mood for a baked potato! And it’s not even 9am.
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June 26th, 2010 at 11:01 am
That poor man! I hate it when I send Alex to do something that I do all the time and he can’t get it right. He gets mad that I had him do it and he’s so funny and frustrated. I’ve eaten expired everything but that’s because my eyes are bad and I can’t tell until it’s TOO LATE. But I haven’t died or anything so what doesn’t kill you just makes you stronger, right?
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June 26th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
I’m with Daisy’s mom (And I saw that episode of Hoarders!)
I will dig through the milk cartons to find the freshest and leave the other ones for people who aren’t as picky.
I often don’t even eat or drink something if the expiration date is the next day. I don’t think I’m finicky — just cautious. Why even take a chance? Food poisoning is NOT FUN!
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June 26th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Most dairy is good for a week past expiration.
Back in the dark ages when I was a little girl and the milk was DELIVERED in glass jars by the MILKMAN it did not have expiration dates.
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June 26th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
I am with Daisy’s human and JD – I search for the newest items with the expiration date the farthest in the future. And the moment that date comes around – splat! It’s in the trash. My fiance, on the other hand, is lax about this. He will leave stuff around for years if it’s dry goods or in the freezer, or weeks in the refrigerator. Whenever he leaves town to do gigs, I go through the cupboard and refrigerator and toss anything that’s out of date. When he gets back, he’s always bummed about something I threw away. But them’s the rules.
June 27th, 2010 at 5:23 am
My good lady reckons natural yoghurt is still good well over a week after the date stamped on the pot. With food health and safety inspectors being so vigilant I guess the manufacturers have to play on the side of caution and date well before there is any chance of danger fom their products.
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June 27th, 2010 at 6:44 am
I dig for the freshest dates. Duh. Why wouldn’t you? It costs the same as yucky. On the rare occasions that I do fast food and the rarer yet occasions that I order french fries I always check my bag before I leave. If my fries aren’t fresh from the fryer I hand them back. I’ve also been known to send yucky coffee back. Persnickety, I am.
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June 27th, 2010 at 10:41 am
I can’t wrap my brain around the guy’s response, “It’s only four days past expiration …” or the cashier’s inability to make an executive decision on, um, er, sour cream. Maybe the word “sour” threw her off, and she assumed that it’s supposed to make you sick.
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June 28th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
I don’t trash stuff that has an expired date that I bought when it was still “good”. It bugs me that people will just throw things out when they’re perfectly fine to eat, but the use by date was yesterday. I mean if it didn’t make you sick yesterday, it’s not going to today. Example, the mayo in my fridge has a “best if used by” date of May 6, 2010. I just opened it last week. It is perfectly fine. Ketchup, mustard, peanut butter, etc. are the same around here. I’ve never gotten sick from doing this. If I think something may be bad, I don’t eat it. Especially meat!
I wouldn’t knowingly buy dairy products that are past the use by date – milk especially. I do look for the furthest off date, and sometimes it doesn’t last that long.
June 28th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
While I may have a stomach of iron, I’m also the type, like some others here, that digs for the products looking for the newest one. My dad would keep food around for ages and never let anything go to waste unless it was growing something. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a store trying to sell expired products. I’ll be sure to double-check next time I’m shopping.
June 28th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
I cant even begin to imagine the effects eating expired sour cream would have on a person!
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June 28th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
This guy is dead meat when he gets home with another outdated product. Sooner or later, all us guys learn to do what we’re told to do or else we end up single or worse. Mr T said it best “I pity the fool!”
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June 28th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Sour cream doesn’t “go bad” because it’s already “bad”.
You can continue to use it until mold appears.
June 29th, 2010 at 4:30 am
but is there any expiry date for cream its already sour…
June 29th, 2010 at 5:15 am
Certainly seems to be living on edge. These incidences are quite common and this is the reason why you are always recommended to buy products only after you check the expiry date.
Just wondering how dumb the grocery keeper was. Making out the difference in expiry date was 4 but thinking about a life and exchanging the product is what the grocery keeper should think about.
Even i had this kind of problem before. This was when i bought medicines from local store and didn’t noticed the expiry date. It was when i got back home and found the date to be one month old. I was sure that it would be waste of time and energy to bang my head over local medical store desk. I just destroyed them and bought another one the next day!
This is a world of uncertainties and scammers. No one would recognize once you get complaints for their products.
June 29th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
But, it’s SOUR cream. There is a reason they call it that. That’s what my mom always used to tell me.
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June 29th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Wow that is one brave soul. If it is out of date it is out of date, why take the chance?
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July 1st, 2010 at 7:26 am
Well it can happen to everybody to eat something that expired… and if it’s not expired for very long time, it won’t happen anything unusual. The date is set as the product well surely be fresh till then, and only after it can be questioned. It doesn’t mean that one day after that date it won’t be good.
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July 2nd, 2010 at 7:58 pm
[…] Admin Rule to Greater Facebook Integration you will find key lessons to help you along the way. The Guy Who Lives on the Edge – A bit of humor for your day. One man and a rotten/spoiled tub of sour cream. Do you think […]
July 3rd, 2010 at 11:36 am
I’ve eaten expired sour cream many a time… LOL I am like that guy- if it smells ok, I’ll eat it. I think I’ll reconsider now, though. lol
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