Out of date cocoa powder

[Karen2005]

I want to make a chocolate cake tomorrow, but the only cocoa powder I have has a best before date of May 2005. It has never been opened though (the film is still intact) so will it be OK to use? Will it still be chocolatey??

[Buenchico]

The first thing to note is that it's a 'Best before' date and not a 'Use by' one. That means that it won't kill you if you eat it :-)

The chances are that your cake will taste fine. Because the seal is still in place, it's unlikely that any serious deterioration will have taken place. My advice is that, if the cake is just for you and the family (i.e. it wouldn't be a major calamity if you decided to throw it away), I'd go ahead and use it. If, however, the chocolate cake is for your best friend's birthday, I'd play safe and buy some more chocolate.

Chris

[Alibobs]

Use it! if it's unopened it will be fine. A few years ago nothing had bb dates and we all survived......

[YvonneM]

Have you ever tried the chocolate cake in the Be-ro Book

[violetblue]

I have some out of date cocoa, opened, and I have no intention of throwing it away. As it's a dry substance, it's unlikely that any serious deterioration will have occurred. Sell by dates are a health and safety issue, it's true, but also a marketing one. I recently noticed that salad cream and ketchup should only be kept 4 weeks once opened. We used to use them until they ran out,and none of us were ill. go ahead and use it, I'm sure you'll be fine!!