"Storrmmee" > wrote in message
...
>i verge on ocd where this is concerned, since i can't see and dh can't
>smell we cross check each other all the time, once you have had food
>posioning and a food sanatatin course you tend to be very dilligent, Lee

That's very true. My mom thinks I go overboard in terms of getting rid of
things that might be old. She thinks pull dates mean nothing. I've found
stuff in her fridge that is ancient. Thankfully she doesn't cook very
often. At least not for us.

I have one SIL who scares me. She had this huge tub of sour cream that was
way more than a year expired. She said, "What could go wrong with it? It's
already sour!" Her son helped with our move to Cape Cod and somehow after
we went to the grocery store, we left the carton of milk in the trunk of the
car overnight in the summer heat. He told me (got this from his mom) that I
should smell it and if it still smelled fine, we could use it. He couldn't
understand why I threw it out and bought another one.

Another time I pitched a fit at one of my in-law's houses. They had a party
that involved a catered lunch. The food was kept warm over those little
candle type thingies. But there was also cold food like salad, fruit and
deviled eggs that was not actually kept cold. This was on a very hot summer
day.

Dinner time rolled around and we were told to eat more of the food that had
been catered. I strongly believe that food should be tossed if left out for
over two hours. They don't. They don't think it matters and I have seen
some of them eat things that have sat out at room temp. all night. My
husband has eaten pizza that he ordered in a motel room and left out
unrefrigerated all night. The thought of it makes my skin crawl.

Anyway... I pitched a fit and demanded that we go out to eat. We had my
niece with us and Angela was probably about 4 or 5 years old. I wasn't
going to eat that stuff nor would I let them eat it.

That day is forever a black mark against me as far as the family is
concerned. They couldn't seem to understand why the food was not good
enough for me! Had they refrigerated the leftovers, then brought them back
out at dinner time and offered the use of the microwave, I would have had no
problem. But that isn't what happened.