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[Sappho]

I've just made a heartbreaking discovery. One of the few things I miss from the US is Reese's peanut butter cups, so when I go there, I often grab a big package of them to take back home to Prague with me. (You can get them here in import shops, but they're very expensive.) I was just cleaning out a cupboard and discovered two HUGE packages of cups... both expired. And not by a little bit - by several years.

I tasted one of the less-old cups to see if it was okay, and it tasted off. My eyes welling up with tears, I tossed them all in the trash.

But I also discovered a bag of Reese's Pieces. The "best by" date is in 2013, but I tasted a few and they seem fine (presumably because there's very little "peanut butter" in each one). On the other hand, I don't know if they can truly go "bad" - as in, are they at all dangerous to eat? Or as long as they taste okay, should I scarf these babies down to avenge the wasted lives of their big brothers and sisters?

[Sheb]

In my experience, except for sea food, if it taste ok you're safe.

[Arx]

I could be wrong, but some research suggests that all the ingredients of Reese's Pieces are such that you'll definitely notice if they're expired, since they're basically made of sugar and fat. Even if they are expired, they probably won't really cause you issues anyway.

[Akura]

sugar and fat.

Mostly the former - which lasts pretty much forever.


Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are one of my favorites too, I feel your pain.

[SOLDIER First]

murder the retailer

[MonkeyHead]

"Best before" is not the same as "Use by" or an expiry date. You will be fine.

[Sheb]

And even "use by" can be ignored. Trust your nose. Embrace the feelings of your millions of ancestors who went along just fine without wondering if that tasty bit of protoplasm was beyond the expiry date.

[nenjin]

You're most likely to get indigestion, or at worse, diaherrea. If the candy shell looks discolored, that might also be bad.

[Sappho]

They look fine on the outside. The cups definitely tasted wrong, so they're in the trash, but the pieces do seem to taste normal... The inside is a slightly lighter color than usual, like how chocolate gets when it gets old (but is still perfectly edible). Without biting one in half and looking inside, I don't think I would have guessed they were old. On the other hand, when I tried googling this, a video did pop up with a title saying someone found maggots in their Reese's cups (I did not watch the video, ew). So that makes me wonder if it's possible they'll have mold or something in them. But I'm hoping the candy shell would prevent that, as long as it's intact...

[Vattic]

As you are in the EU you should be able to order Reese's products from a UK dealer without too massive a cost. They sell them in supermarkets here at similar prices to other sweets and chocolate.

[Sheb]

Stuff full of sugar tends to have too low a water activity for mold.

[Sappho]

As you are in the EU you should be able to order Reese's products from a UK dealer without too massive a cost. They sell them in supermarkets here at similar prices to other sweets and chocolate.

I can buy them here at import shops, but they are much more expensive than they are in the US. I just don't want to have to throw these away if I don't have to. Such a waste!

[SOLDIER First]

murder the retailer

[Sappho]

murder the retailer

...why? I bought these years ago, they weren't sold to me expired or anything.

[SOLDIER First]

I misunderstood your first post, then.

...

murder yourself