So neither of you gave it a tiny sip to see if it was bad? From what I understand, dairy products are supposed to be okay 5 days after the expiration date. And I'm suspecting Marlo may know how to drive, if need be.

can we talk about the dates?

sell by date
best by date
best before date
expiration date
freshness date

WHAT DO THEY ALL MEAN?

Sell by Date does not equal Expiration Date... If that was the case, I would have died years ago.

OMG, you're my nine year old daughter!!!

So, I check the expiration dates on milk, but I don't live by them...I sniff like Jon at least up to a week after the date. And, brace yourself, but I don't go by the date on eggs either. I will go up to two weeks passed that!! EGADS. I just crack them in a bowl to check before using and if I'm really suspicious I might do the float test, just in case. (Calm your breathing Heather)

However, my child is OCD about expiration dates and will throw it away if it is two minutes passed the date...thirty seconds passed if it's something like luncheon meat or milk.

A week or so ago she came to me with a pack of ham in her hand...informed that it had gone bad...the previous day.

I told her I had just opened it just a few days before and it was fine. I went to make a sandwich the next day, but couldn't find the ham, which confused me because I knew I had JUST opened a new package. Then I remembered...

I called for my daughter and asked her if she'd tossed it out even after I told her it was ok. She looked at me sheepishly and then with a huff of exasperation, as if I was the bad guy, said, "Mom, do you want me to get botulism!?"

Heather meet Sarah...

Sarah meet Heather, who will now explain to you how to make sure you take your meds the same time every day ; ).

Yeah, "Sell By" and "Use By" are two different things. "Use By" means "expired." I have always heard that "Sell By" means the date the store must sell it by, and that milk is typically good for one week after that date (YMMV).

But, regardless, if it smells bad, even if the date says it okay, I would dump it...

Oh, FPS. If it smells fine it is fine. Sell by, use by, expiration, they're all different, and they're all conservative estimates.

I'm with Jon on this one. I always sniff, and if it smells fine, I drink it. My husband, on the other hand, won't eat bread if its more than a week old.

Okay! Here's a post from the Dairy Council of California confirming that properly-refrigerated milk should be fine for 5-7 days after the sell-by date. That date is NOT an expiration date, it's the date after which stores can't sell the milk.

http://www.dairycouncilofca.org/milk-dairy/milkhan...

So, let's all take a step back and enjoy some nice, unspoiled milk... also, you know that both skim and whole dairy products are neutral with regard to long-term weight change, right? http://blogs.wsj.com/ideas-market/2011/06/24/milk-.... So, spring for the full-fat milk, you guys. So much tastier.

That reminds me of my all-time favorite Roseanne bit, where they all take a swig of milk, find it disgustingly sour, and put it right back in the fridge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEhL0KotLEE

I always taste test if the smell is okay. Milk can last beyond the ex. date if it's kept cold enough. Besides doesn't the frother heat the milk up? Maybe enough to kill anything lurking in milk that smells fine?

And with two kids and four adults in the house, pretty regular, who has milk left beyond the expiration date?

SOMEONE HAS NOT BEEN DRINKING THEIR MILK!

Tangent: what milk frother do you have?

yet this post really has nothing to do with milk or expiration dates.

Nothing goes past these lips if the date has past that is stamped on the label. Husband completely disagrees... our biggest arguement is about red meat. He believes that the longer the steak is there, the more "aged" it becomes and the better it will be! Ha!

Okay, I'm going to be one of the only ones here who does not focus on the dang milk, which was obviously FINE anyway.

What irks me about this is that you gave in to the grimace and the shrug. My husband also has these little passive agressive ways sometimes, like getting in my way "helping" in the kitchen when he'd really rather be upstairs playing on the computer... so he waits for me to get frustrated and ban him from the kitchen. Once you can spot these little tricks, why give in?

Me, I'd have let him sniff the milk by himself, make the call to use or not use it, and take the first sip. It's no fair calling someone passive agressive when you're enabling them by totally being a sucker.

I've been accused of having goat blood in my lineage because I'll eat something that's sat out all night. Him, he's delicate and won't touch a thing past a sell date.

Passive aggressive in the kitchen is commonplace and because it's such a small space it's hard not to get sucked in to it. Of course if you sit back and watch it, it's an entertaining show. But that's only if you can detach, recognize it for what it is and then enjoy it all the more.