Would you still use it? I have some cranberry muffin mix i bought months ago. I hate to throw it away it's sealed in a package and
I want to make it, but it says use by April 2012. I can't believe it expired so quickly, usually these things have a longer shelf life. Should I just toss it and move on?
Toss it and move on. My husband read something not long ago that said you shouldn’t use expired bake mixes, and went through our cabinets and threw all the expired stuff out. (And there were some there that were ancient!)
I would definitely use it. The expired date is actually a sell by date and the mix is still good for several months after that. I’ve used expired mixes and had good results.
I would use it. Cooking it should kill anything that could be bad. I I just used an expired pregnancy test (expired in May) that said negative and it was right…period was just being stubborn this month! :o) All jokes aside, I think the non-perishable type items should be ok as long as the time frame is reasonable. a year or more, NO WAY!
I would smell it to see if the oils have gone rancid. If it has that off odor, toss it. If it smells good, use it.
The “sell by” or “pull” date tells the store how long to display the food for sale. Foods eaten after this date are generally safe as long as they are not stored for longer than the recommended time and that they are handled and prepared safely. Muffin mix is recommended to be stored no longer than nine months and should be kept in a cool, dry place. More information on food storage is available at the extension office or on our website at: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/lyon/.
use it, and mail us all some muffins… 
I think you would be okay, but I’ll tell you that I made a cake one time with an expired box, and the cake fell. It was older than yours, though. So no more expired cakes for me after that!
Dawn
Since it is not more than 6 months past the expiration/use by date, I would use it. At some point, there is some kind of mold that can be in old mixes, like pancake mixes. But I can’t remember the details—I’ll try to locate it in a minute. But the expiration/sell by date isn’t designed for the mold issue. It is determined by how long the baking powder in the mix will still cause the proper rising of the mix. At under 6 months past, I would think it would still be fine. The only problem might be that it rises a touch less than it might otherwise. But it probably won’t even do that. After 6 months or more past the date, I would toss it, just because you’d end up with a flat whatever it is.
ETA:
But, the mold issue is only for people who have ALLERGIES to molds. And even then, apparently, the sell by date has ZERO to do with whether or not the product contains any molds.
Here is the snopes on it: Is Expired Cake Mix Dangerous? | Snopes.com
Call the 800 number on the box. They will tell you what changes might happen. Many foods are safe for another year, but the taste might be less pronounced.
I would use it.
The very worst thing that might happen is that the muffins might not rise as they normally would, but there’s nothing in the dry ingredients that could really poison you or anything.
If the package is sealed and there’s no moisture, I would go ahead and bake them.
Best wishes.
I’ve used expired mixes before.
They are fine.
They might not always rise as much as when they were fresh but the flavor is the same and no one knows the difference.
It’s only a few months off it’s recommended ‘Use by’ date.
Now if you found a box from 2010 - that, I’d throw out.
Open the package and if it doesn’t smell bad, use it. The dates on packages are set by the government and industry. If you think the government knows what foods in your pantry are fit to eat and which foods are not, then nothing will change your mind.
According to the government the wheat found in King Tut’s tomb was CENTURIES out of date and should have been thrown away. But scientists took that wheat and grew it and cross bread it with modern varities to make modern wheat more disease resistant and drought tolerant.
Good luck to you and yours.
Just use it!!!
Use it.
Ok I’m going to smell it and if it smells fine I’ll use it! Thanks for your help, sending you all some virtual muffins;)