If the fridge is stuffed full of items with expiration/used best by or even manufactured/packed dates like between 2015 and 2025, is it acceptable for the sitter to throw that food into the garbage to make room for new groceries? Thoughts?
As a sitter, I don’t feel like it’s my place to throw the expired food items out so I just leave. If fruit or vegetables are going off, I’ll throw them out.
To be safe, I would simply ask them. 'Hey there, all is well here. “Quick question - trying to make room for some groceries I purchased and I noticed a few expired items. Do you want to hang onto them or may I toss them for you?”
Hi @PV592 
As sitters, we’d always check with the HO before throwing anything out, even if it looked past its best or was well past its use-by date. We wouldn’t want to assume they were happy for us to dispose of it.
If the HO said we were welcome to finish off anything in the fridge, we’d also check whether they’d expect us to replace anything before their return. We’d rather ask and be sure than make assumptions and get it wrong.
Always best to ask but I’d have serious concerns about a host with such ancient perishables !
2015 
Maybe they decant? My dad had all these herbs and spices in bottles with really old dates. When I checked with him he was just using the old bottles for storage and filling up from sachets. I can’t really imagine what you’d do that to in a fridge 
The host should have left room in the fridge and freezer for you, it is included in the pre sit host’s reminder from THS. However, that can be ignored so I always ask a few days before arrival for space in the fridge and freezer as I normally take frozen meals I’ve batch cooked in advance for the freezer and lots of food for the fridge.
In answer to your question, I would message the host and explain there is no room in the fridge for your food and you notice a lot of out of date items so would they like you to discard them to make space? I must admit, I arrived at a house sit in New Zealand a few years ago and things were crawling out of the fridge. I didn’t even ask the owners at that stage, just chucked them out!
Responding as a host, a sitter discarding foods based on date labeling is ill-advised. Best By dates speak to food quality rather than safety. Whether and when refrigerated items are discarded after their Best By date is best left to the host. Packing/manufacture dates are entirely irrelevant; plenty of foods last indefinitely.
That said, if a sitter finds anything in the refrigerator or the potato bin that is obviously spoiled, I’d hope they’d discard it.
Hosts typically leave me fridge and freezer space, because my profile mentions that I value such.
If they leave produce or other stuff that will spoil while they’re gone, I’ll chuck it in the freezer if freezable. Like things they might make smoothies, soups or sauces from. If not, they can toss it after returning.
If anything were visibly spoiling or molding, of course I’d just chuck that, but I don’t remember such happening.
I don’t cook at all and eat what I feel like buying or ordering at the time. I rarely eat anything of the hosts’, even when invited to help myself.
if jars of things such as jam, pickles etc. I just leave them. I have undone some and found mould inside. I just feel if the owner came back to their empty fridge, as everything thrown out, then you could be accused of stealing them. It is up to the owner to throw out what is in their fridge and not you.
Agree, and ever since I ate spiked leftover carrots (at HO’s invitation), I avoid leftovers, no matter how tempting! So much for thanksgiving party leftovers, it’s a hard pass since that surprise night of wondering if I should go to the ER or Not! Oh brother 
!
We recently completed a 2 week sit (with a weekend away inbetween) where the host had not invited us to consume anything in the fridge. But they had left us plenty of space in the (huge) fridge. During the first week my husband spotted a package of smoked salmon, apparantly ‘hidden’ under some veggies, with an expiry date mid way through out first week.. We were sorely tempted but restrained ourselves. On returning for the second week, after they’d been back for the weekend, it was still there, now out of date.. Hubby was pretty dissapointed to see it going to waste, knowing these hosts (rich people) would likely chuck it, but, as others have said, we had not been invited and we did not want to be accused of stealing! There was also jam & cheese going mouldy but we left it all untouched. Fortunately these hosts were generous in other ways (e.g offering their other home for the weekend in between to make it easier for us all) and writing 2 fabulous reviews!
I remember someone posted in the forum about being invited to eat, among other things, brownies that turned out to be spiked. The hosts forgot to mention the pot and one of the sitters had a bad reaction and ended up in the ER, with a hefty bill.
Another instance where we need a “yikes!!!” Reaction-Emoji …!!! 
One of my standard questions now before hosts head out the door, is if they’d like me to try to use up any perishables and toss any that will “turn” before their return. If they’ve told me to use what I like, I let them know I’m happy to replace anything I use up. (Usually they say not to worry about it.)
If they vary between 2015 and 2025 then I wouldn’t, and I also wouldn’t raise it with them when they are so old. But they could also just be using the old tubs/jars as storage. I’d just leave it. How they live their life is up to them.
Fresh fruit, veg, meat, fish is very different, I always bin any of that stuff that is past it’s best/date.
I am currently on a sit where I was told to help myself to anything I fancied, from fridge and pantry, and to dispose of any perishables that were past their date. I was so glad to have this permission, as 2 items in particular were definitely on the turn, both of them cheeses, one a Mozzarella, with a big air pocket, and foil lid visibly ready to burst open, a sure sign of a build up of harmful gases within.
i noted it had a QR CODE for a competition to win a holiday to Tuscany, so being a competition addict and quite successful with them, (I have recently won a holiday for 2 including flights to COSTA BRAVA in an August TV Choice magazine) I thought maybe this is meant to be.
Alas, when i scanned it, Sorry this competition is now closed. That shows how out of date this Mozarella was.
At least in the UK we wouldn’t get a hefty bill. Thank goodness for the NHS…..What were the brownies spiked with?
Wow! Congratulations with the holiday win. I’m often lucky with raffles