11 products whose expiration dates can be ignored

Our list is intended for the latter: by familiarizing yourself with it, you will save time and money – you will no longer have to run to the store. (We didn’t include salt in it – firstly, everyone already knows that, and secondly, these aren’t the amounts worth fighting for.)

Raise your hand to everyone who has thrown away white rice (raw, of course) as soon as it reaches its expiration date! Turns out it was a mistake. “This cereal is a processed and refined product that can be stored for an additional six months in an airtight container or package without any loss of taste and quality,” explains Ruiz Asri, Asian cuisine expert from the online gastronomic portal.

According to Asri, soy sauce can be consumed for two to three years after the expiration date. “Soy sauce contains a very high amount of sodium, which is an excellent preservative. In this case, the expiration date is a guideline that concerns taste and not safety,” explains Ruiz.

Unexpected, right? Foundations are water-based and bacteria not only love it, but actually love it. However, says cosmetic chemist Krupa Kastline, preservatives are a game-changer: They do a great job killing bacteria, yeast and fungi. “You can keep an unopened bottle for a few years, even though foundation has a shorter shelf life,” she explains. The expert also advises paying attention to the consistency of the product – for example, after separation into fractions, you should not use it.

Many toothpaste manufacturers report that their product can be used after the expiration date – no harm will be caused. True, you will get fewer benefits: over time, the paste loses its superpower to fight cavities. On the other hand, you should definitely not throw it away: it will prove useful for cleaning many objects, from diamonds to sneaker soles.

As in the previous case, the shelf life of a protein powder is related to its quality and not its safety. “Protein usually contains maltodextrin and lecithin, which act as preservatives, so you can make your own shakes weeks or even months after the expiration date. Remember that the amount of protein will decrease and the product will not work as well as before. And of course, don’t eat proteins that seem weird to you, advises nutritionist Jenna Hope.

“If you haven’t opened the package, you can safely add eight to 10 months to the date listed on the package—cold temperatures inhibit the growth of microorganisms,” says Rachel Scott, MD. She adds that “unopened” is the key word here: opened packages can be infiltrated by bacteria that can survive the cold.

Good news: There’s no need to throw away a carton of eggs if they’re past their expiration date: they can easily be stored in the refrigerator for another two to three weeks. And by the way, the “buoyancy” test also shows that the egg is no longer fresh, but that it is not spoiled. So if you want to know if eggs are safe to eat, focus on the smell and don’t give them water treatments.

Open cake mix can be used for four to five months, and closed for one to two years. Don’t forget to add a little baking powder or baking soda: these ingredients lose their properties over time.

Have you emptied your kitchen cabinets and discovered several expired cans of stew that you bought during a panic attack? More good news: you don’t have to throw them away. With the exception of highly acidic foods like tomatoes and pineapples, canned vegetables, fruits and soups can be eaten for a year or two past the expiration date, and canned meats for another two to three years.

As Amina Harris, executive director of the Center for Honey and Pollination at the Robert Mondavi Institute at the University of California, Davis, explains, honey contains virtually no moisture. “Very few bacteria or microorganisms can survive in such an environment. They die, you could say the honey is suffocating them,” she says.

Can you guess what pasta and honey have in common? That’s right, an extremely low amount of moisture. Thanks to this, the pasta can be stored safely for another two to three years after the expiration date – just make sure the packaging is airtight. However, there are people who have experimented with randomly found pasta from the Soviet era – their only complaint is that the cones have become completely tasteless.

These are not all tips that will help you save money: find out what chefs advise you to do for this, how to freeze food correctly and in which case frozen food will be even better than fresh.

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