DO YOU KISS YOUR DOG?

Find out how gross your questionable habits really are, according to health experts

- Rosemary Counter

I admit it, when it comes to food, I have some eeew-inducing practices, like skimming mold off old cheddar and feeding the rest to my unsuspecting family. We’re still alive, so how bad can it be? Because our gross human habits fall somewhere along the spectrum from mildly cringeworthy to full-on repulsive, I reached out to experts to find out where some common behaviors land on the gross-o-meter.

EATING OLD FOOD

The stamped expiration date—and its confusing cousins “use by” and “best before”—should be but one tool in your hmm-should-I-eat-this? toolbox.

“With the exception of infant formula, food labels aren’t standardized or regulated,” says nutritionist Marie Spiker, an assistant professor at the University of Washington. “Few are related to biology or food safety—just peak freshness.” And so, she says, it’s totally fine and safe to eat foods that are not at their exact peak.

Handling, packaging, refrigeration and storage all affect any food’s farmto-plate timeline, so your best tools are your eyes and nose.

“Most of the time, this is intuitive,” says Spiker. “If it looks good and smells good, it’s probably good.” Not sure? Consider this: “Spores spread through soft, porous surfaces. So in general, hard foods are more difficult to permeate and therefore safer to eat,” she says. Don’t trust your sense of smell or sight? Check out the FDA’s website, where food safety guidelines are available.

So you probably should toss the whole package if you spot mold on bread, soft cheeses like Brie and feta, or soft produce such as strawberries. But it’s not too gross to slice off the funky stuff and save the rest of potatoes, cured meat like salami, or hard cheeses like my beloved cheddar.

BORROWING A TOOTHBRUSH