Matthew wrote:

I learned my lesson also growing up. MY MOTHER was the type to keep food
for weeks after expiration date. Here words were always oh it is still good
even though the date was months out.
I got food poisoning so many times growing up and eating at her house that
it got to the point when we ate there I demanded to see the box or cans that
she cooked and if they were out of date more than a couple days.

Well, some people have exceedingly sensitive stomachs - even
a change in drinking water sets them off, but "expiration
dates" on some foods are purely arbitrary, with no
relationship to the real world! (My mother's rules, back
before canned goods bore such things were "If it bulges,
throw it out." and "Don't use it if it smells bad, and
always boil canned food at least ten minutes to kill any
bacteria." (And of course "Never use any canned food
straight from the can - you should heat it thoroughly first".)