7 Foods That Are Safe After The “Best By” Date on the Package

Are you an obsessor over the "Best By" date on your food?

Let me tell you how to ruin a really good Saturday morning? The moment you open your eyes, you can all but taste that first cup of coffee. You dash into the kitchen, make that coffee, in goes the sweetener followed by the milk. You stir it up and take your first sip. At that second you know what the problem is. The milk is sour and without milk, coffee just isn't coffee. Yuck!

On a related note, recently TheSun.com compiled a list of foods that according to an expert, can safely be eaten "after" their "Best By" date has passed. Also, based on how much we are paying for food these days, the last thing we want to do is throw it out.

To help combat a lot of food waste, some organizations are switching to a "Best Before" date on many products. The idea being that people are more likely to still consume some foods using their judgment of suitability, rather than immediately throwing it out because the "Best by" date has passed.

It's a subtle shift, but an important one when it comes to how much food is thrown out that doesn't necessarily need to be. Obviously this doesn't apply to all products, but for those that it makes sense to keep around a little longer.

Check out the list below of food that is probably still ok to consume after that "Best By" date.

Take a sniff. If you give it thumbs up, great. If not, toss it out. When it comes to the "best by" date on the carton, you can probably safely extend that up to a week.

Experts say that if kept in the refrigerator, eggs may remain good up to 5 weeks after the date. There is a simple test you can do if you have doubts. Simply put the egg in water. If the egg floats, toss it.

Ignore the date. Consume it up to 2 years past the best-by date.

Hard cheeses could last several months if properly stored. If you do find mold, you could scrape it off. If you prefer a soft cheese, honor the dates on the packaging.

Baking soda, salt, pepper, sugar, flour, etc., keep them in cool and dry places and they will last a long time.

Eyeball the salad. When is starts looking bad, throw it out.

Experts say if the can is in good condition, contents should be good for years. Now, for high acid foods, Southern Living says 1-2 years.