The Last Post?

What do you think of the meaning and usefulness of dates on food products - you know, the ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ labels?

I’m one of those people who throw out anything – certainly and food or drink – that is one second past its ‘best before’ date... better safe than sorry and all that...However, I suspect certain family members believe that ‘best by’ dates are simply marketing devices to make people throw out unconsumed but perfectly fine products in order to make us buy more...and they may be right!

For example, during a holiday in Cuba in 2009 elder son bought a bottle of Havana Club rum and a vacuum-packed packet of 100% Arabica ground coffee. Both items have lain, unopened, in the garage where they’d been put for storage, ever since.

I’ve been persuaded to brew and drink the coffee – even though the ‘best before’ date is 23^rd January 2011, about 15 months ago.

I hope I’ll survive the experiment. But this may be my last post. Ever.