[Gayle]

Nine times out of ten the sell by date is little more than insurance for the manufacturers.

I used to work in pharmaceuticals and was told that the sell by date wasn't the day it would go off but the date they could guarantee that it would still be 100% effective. So a few days, even a few months or a year after it wouldn't actually harm you, but perhaps may not cure you so effectively.

Obviously some food does have a short shelf life but it's possible to tell by smell or sight whether a food is off or not and I pay little attention to sell by dates for things like cheese or bread where it's obvious whether they're off or not.

The only time I pay attention is with packet goods or fresh meats and fish where I'm never quite sure whether they're ok or not. I would have tasted the poppadums and if they'd been a bit chewy I would have binned them but if they were still fairly crispy I wouldn't have bothered one bit about eating them after the sell by date.