Food

The decision as to whether food should be allowed is one for the local moderating team to make. It does meet the requirements of being free, legal and appropriate for all ages, but some moderators feel that open foods are too dangerous; opened containers could also have become spoiled, or inadvertently contaminated with other ingredients such as nuts (which some people can be very allergic to). The group should decide its own policy here. Good things to consider are whether the food is sealed, and whether it is in date - noting the difference between USE BY DATE which it's definitely not okay to exceed and BEST BEFORE DATE which is more of a recommendation and doesn't indicate that the food isn't fit for human consumption.

Whether food has been illegally imported could also be an issue you might wish to consider, here is a very comprehensive guide where you can do this:

http://foodimports.direct.gov.uk/index.html

It's also worth bearing in mind that food isn't always used for human consumption:

• Food and its packaging can have other uses such as arts and crafts.

• People use baby formula as a fish or rat food.

• Colas can be used for removing lime scale and in a number of science projects.

• Any organic matter can be used for composting.