Expiration dates and you

[Sharky]

Quin & anatess ... you all just made the perfect argument against most of the US food handling regulations including the over emphasis of expiration dates.

Is it possible for mankind, over a period of time, to develop some sort of immunity to things like salmonella? YEP!

This country has gotten to the point where everything is so clean that it could actually be unhealthy.

I was amazed recently to see a group of "city parents" refusing to give their young children anything with nuts or wheat because it "increases the risks" of allergies .... actually studies have shown over & over & over that early exposure actually decreases the risks of allergies or intolerance.

Our homes are built air-tight & all the air is repeatedly circulated & filtered & refiltered ... of course things like hay fever & asthma & airborne allergies are on the increase, we've eliminated or minimized the allergens from our lives in an attempt to keep ourselves & our kids safe in our homes .... except life can't be effectively lived within the confines of your own home.

We use & over use antibiotics & antimicrobials in foods, in treating minor infections, & in cleaning surfaces & then realize those antibiotic & antimicrobials rapidly become ineffective.

Same thing occurs with pesticides ... weed become tolerant of herbicides, insects become tolerant of insecticides, worms in livestock & pet become tolerant & resistant to the wormers.

As a kid I grew up working on the farm. We'd be handling manure or whatever else in the process, then stop, grab a sandwich off the seat of the truck & eat it, never thinking about the crap that was on our hands ... & never thinking about the mayo & turkey (or my favorite, aged egg salad) that comprised that sandwich that had been unrefrigerated & sometimes in the sun for several hours, perhaps all day ...

Funny, none of us kids got sick, ever. In fact the only school days we missed were because we had animals in the fair that we had to go show or something on the farm needed urgent attention, never missed school because we were sick ... our doctor trips & hospital stays were all due to broken bones from doing stupid kid things (like trying to ride a bull the day before my 12th birthday), never made such trips due to being sick.

Were we "lucky" or was it that our lifestyle growing up exposed us to all those germs & bacteria & viruses over & over & over & we grew up with our bodies having developed some immunity to all those things?

Edited February 17, 2014 by Sharky

[Guest]

Were we "lucky" or was it that our lifestyle growing up exposed us to all those germs & bacteria & viruses over & over & over & we grew up with our bodies having developed some immunity to all those things?

No, you were from a generation that ate real food.

[Backroads]

That is also because nobody in America will buy eggs unless it's pristine clean shell. Once you clean the shell, the egg will require refrigeration. If you leave it as is from the mother hen, it can stay on your counter for a month or more.

This is why I prefer getting my eggs from the in-laws.