When you see the expiration date that has passed on a certain product, do you immediately throw it away, or is it possible to exercise discretion? The listener talked about this with Dr. Maya Roseman , who revealed some interesting truths that will make you think twice about the expiration date .

Forget the expiration date: these are the foods that will last forever

First the listener stated: "I hate throwing away food, even in a restaurant I make sure to eat everything on the plate, and if not, I take it. I just hate throwing away food. I remember when I was in the navy, they would throw the leftovers into the sea, it just horrified me." He added: "There is an expiration date on all the bags. These dates are quite arbitrary, aren't they?".

Dr. Roseman explained: "Many writers expire according to considerations that are not necessarily based on when it really expired. In considerations of risk versus benefit, some companies take the date that it can start to possibly expire in case of storage in sub-optimal conditions, and then they say, 'It's better for us to have everyone throw it away and see the date, than for one person to complain and start posting it on the networks.'

According to her, "Let's say yellow cheeses last much longer than what is written on the package. Niger milk lasts exactly on the date, maybe a day or two longer. The dry stuff is just written on. There shouldn't be anything there."

She also said: "The more the moisture percentage is zero, as there is in dry legumes , the chance of there being some kind of mold is very low. You just stick some kind of date, even if it's been a year, it can be excellent."

"After the chocolate has expired there is a certain change in texture"

Following the answer to the intriguing question, what about the chocolate? "After it expires, there is a certain change in the texture," explained Dr. Roseman, noting that the change comes in the form of a white powder that appears on the chocolate. "To me, personally, it tastes better. It doesn't mean any kind of spoilage or bacteria or mold and that's perfectly fine. To me, it's even tastier that way," she said.

However, she said: "The thing is, that in some products, such as meat, eggs, milk and white dairy products, you can refer to the date and simply not consume out of some fear of eating something that disgusts you and does not taste good to you, and it will cause you some kind of trauma – or really taste and smell and decide on your own. There are no unequivocal rules here."

According to her, "It very much depends on storage in transport, on the marketing networks, on how it got to you, and many other things. You can use your judgment. As long as it tastes good to you, smells good and is fine, then the chances are, 99 percent, that it won't happen to you is nothing".