What's the most out of date food you've eaten?

Stuart Wright

When I did a clear out of a cupboard a few years ago, I found a bottle of sauce with a Best Before date older than my daughter who was 10 at the time.  I binned it, but it shows that it's easy to let food get old at the back of the cupboard.
Last night I made Angel Delight for myself and the kids.  It was delicious and we lapped it up despite the Best Before date being July 2010.  So more than 4 years old.  Today we are all fine aside from stomach cramps and the runs. Seriously if the stuff had tasted off to me, I wouldn't have given it to the kids.   But it was lovely.
In today's news there is this item about a new way to determine whether meat has gone off or not: End of the best before date? Food label made from gelatine becomes bumpy when meat is no longer safe to eat | Daily Mail Online
But this won't work for all foods, and items like Angel Delight, which is powder in a sealed bag, I would say, is much safer to eat when waaay past its BB date.
What's the most out of date food you've eaten?

Exemplar

I've got a Christmas pudding in the larder that's only 6 years out of date..

Showoff

There is a BIG difference between Best Before and Use By.
Best before just means exactly that, you can eat it after, but to enjoy it at it's best, do so before this date.
Use By, means again exactly that, use it by this date or bin it.

I've eaten loads of things years after the Best Before, but will chuck out most things if after the Use By.

Having said that, if it smells OK and not long after, what harm can it do.

Redline

I got a spice rack with the use by date of 30/12/1998 on all the jars. Still use them. Most of the sell by and use by dates are nonsense.

IronGiant

I believe they found a tin of Birds Custard Powder in Tutankhamen's tomb that was still edible...

SteakAndCake

I've eaten at least 3 year old Fray Bento and Xmas Pudding (not together).  I take expiry dates not so much as warning but more as challenges.

SBT

Not food, but I had a can of beer at my grandads once, that was part of his Christmas tip when he worked on the dust.
He hadn't worked there for over 20 years so gawd knows how old it was.
Tasted OK though

SBT

Eating anything Fray Bentos is a challenge in itself

Steve N

I was involved with all aspects of this with my jobs.
The introduction of dating on products caused lots of confusion.
Below is a very rough idea as specific details would run to whole books.

Safer foods include:
Tinned food for example will keep for decades as long as the integrity of the tin has not been compromised
Tests have shown that nutritional values will decrease after about 30 years.
Highly acidic contents like rhubarb, fruit and even tomatoes can eat away at the inside sealing material but this would be evident on opening - blown tin, escaping gas, smell, looks etc.
Dehydrated products can last indefinitely so long as all moisture is excluded though this would be evident by products developing mould or becoming lumpy. Things like spices, tea etc will lose their pungency or flavour so are best not kept too long.
Some foods are exempt from dating as they are natural preservatives such as sugar, vinegar etc though some manufacturers still date these products.

High risk products are those marked Use By rather than Best Before  which is more of a recommendation
If kept as recommended by the manufacturer I usually don't worry if a few days have passed depending on the product. Manufacturers always give a bit of leeway so nothing should self destruct at midnight.

Some products will indicate their deterioration with spoilage bacteria.
This is the stuff that make stuff slimy, smelly etc but is not technically harmful in itself. However, if the conditions have been right for spoilage bacteria, they have been right for growth of harmful bacteria.
For example: Milk and cream go sour through the onset of spoilage bacteria but are safe to eat and are often used in recipes.

Mr.D

I've eaten army ration packs that were 3 years out of date, the packets are fine as long as they maintain their seal ; some of the smaller packets and crackers have had it by then , the main meals are usually fine. I doubt any of it would make you sick though; probably still has some calorific value even if its become tasteless.