Tofu 2 Days Past Expiration Date -- Okay to use?

Question

Hey Guys,

I am making a marinated tofu recipe (I have a brand new package, but found one hidden in the fridge that I thought had gotten left at the store last time I went shopping) and the package expired June 15th. I do not use tofu often enough to make a decision based on smell, etc.

I have a brand new package so am okay with throwing the expired one out, but I figured there are people on here who know for sure if this is one of those items that absolutely cannot be used past said date.

Thanks in advance for any responses!

Answer

Yes, I've used packaged tofu like yours way past the expiration date. Smelled and tasted fine and no ill effects.

Answer

i agree with the others, but will (also) suggest sniffing and "feeling" it before using it. Sometimes tofu starts to get a slightly slimy coating even before it goes off, but if it otherwise smells OK, that can easily be rinsed off under cold water, and it should be fine. In my personal experience, aseptically packaged tofu lasts a while after its best-before date if it's been kept properly cold, but on the other hand, the dates are usually a few months from packaging. So just on freshness grounds, I do try to avoid buying it if the date is looming on the near term horizon, because that means it's been sitting around, even if in cold storage, for a couple of months already and that never does its flavor any good...

As an aside, there is *no* food that "absolutely cannot be used" past it's marked date. in the United States. the only food product with a legally required "use by" date is infant formula (and while I certainly wouldn't suggest feeding babies outdated formula, I dare say even that doesn't magically turn into a metaphoric pumpkin at 12:01 a.m. the day after its marked date.) All the others are just best-before (or sometimes "sell-by") dates, and roughly estimated, conservative ones at that, with the phrase "use by", if that's how they're marked, implicitly meaning "use by <mm/yy> for best quality". Now that food waste has become a concern among a much larger percentage of the population than it once was (and so has become a practical political issue as far as elected officials and their appointees are concerned), even the USDA has gotten into the act of pointing out that these dates are advisory and have no significance as far as "food safety" is concerned.

Answer

Hey! 

Thanks for the responses!

@MikeG, I know, I was unintentionally hyperbolic. There are things I wouldn't bat an eye at using a few days past the expiration date since I cook with them often; I figured this would be fine but certainly was not sure. It actually seems a bit firmer and dried out (even though it still had all the water in the package, rather than slimy. 

Thanks for all the tips, I really appreciate it :)

Answer

I have been buying tofu in similar water filled containers for....decades? 
One thing to be more wary of than the expiration date is if the package is puffed out at all- like the plastic has domed up, that's no good and there is something growing there. Same with if it has a slippery slimy texture, or any kind of funk to the smell. 
I have found that some markets don't handle or store the tofu properly, so when you buy it get a container from the back/bottom or coldest one. 

I have certainly found that the tofu i bought went off much before the expiration date, likely due to poor storage/market conditions.

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Tofu 2 Days Past Expiration Date -- Okay to use?

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