The packet’s open – now what?
So you’ve opened the packet before the best before or use-by date, but the food hasn’t all been used. What should you do with the remainder?
The FSA says, “We would always advise following the manufacturer’s instructions on the ‘open life’, which usually indicates where to store products and for how long.
“For example, different brands of the same products can undergo different manufacturing processes and this affects their composition and how perishable they are.”
Readers of “The People’s Friend” Team Blog on our website will know that we have some devoted cheese fans in the office.
We were interested in a WRAP study which found that over 36,000 tonnes of cheese is wasted each year because it isn’t used in time. One area of confusion was how long something like Cheddar stayed fresh after opening, with different brands recommending using the remaining cheese within three, five or seven days.
We asked the FSA if hard cheese really does go off so quickly in the fridge.
“If it is not wrapped correctly cheese may go hard,” the FSA told us. “This is a quality issue rather than a food safety issue, as long as it is not mouldy, not crosscontaminated and is within its use-by date.
“It is also possible to freeze cheese, though it’s better to grate it before freezing as this protects against drying and cracking.
“Once frozen, bacteria are still there but are unable to grow. After defrosting, bacteria are able to grow again. This is why it is OK to freeze food for a long time, but food must be consumed within twenty-four hours of defrosting.
“That being said, the quality of some food items deteriorates after a certain length of time, either in taste, texture or appearance.”