The expiration date is one of the most important considerations when buying food, medicine, and other products. But it isn’t just about safety or quality – it’s also about cost.
Expiration dates are used to indicate when a product is no longer at its peak quality, not necessarily when it’s unsafe to consume.
By understanding expiration dates and how they’re used, you can make sure you’re getting the freshest and safest items at the best possible price.
Expiration dates are also crucial in managing inventory, ensuring that items are moved out of warehouses and onto store shelves quickly and efficiently. Knowing the ins and outs of expiration dates can save you money and help you get the most out of every purchase.
An expiration date is the date a product will no longer be at optimal quality. It also indicates when the manufacturer believes the product will be unsafe to consume. While you may decide to eat products after the expiration date, you should use caution.
Food that’s past its expiration date may be less nutritious and taste different.
Some types of products
– especially those that are highly perishable
– are marked with an expiration date that’s less about quality and more about safety. Milk, for example, will last for several days after its “sell-by” date.
It’ll be safe to drink after that, but its taste and nutritional value will go downhill quickly.
Expiration dates can be confusing and difficult to interpret. If you’re not sure how to interpret a product’s expiration date, you can call the manufacturer’s customer service department for clarification. You can also find useful information about expiration dates online.
Expiration dates are based on testing done by product manufacturers. These tests are used to determine the length of time a product will retain its optimal quality and not become unsafe to consume.
There are no federal guidelines that require specific testing or standards for expiration dates, however. This means the dates are not legally binding, and manufacturers are not required to change them, even if the product tests show that it’s still safe and wholesome to eat.
Manufacturers use expiration dates to manage inventory, and they assume that you will either eat the product before it goes bad or discard it.
Even if products are safe to eat after their “sell-by” or “best-by” dates, they may not taste as good or be as nutritious. The way products are handled and transported also affects their shelf life.
Expiration dates are used to indicate when a product is no longer safe to consume. Some products – like raw eggs, raw meat, and precut vegetables – will have a “use-by” date, and others will have a “sell-by” date.
Use-by dates are based on lab testing to determine the last safe date to consume a product. Sell-by dates are only intended for use as a reference for retailers to keep their inventory fresh. Products that are past their expiration date should not be consumed.
Even if they are safe to eat, they are unlikely to taste or look as good as they did when they were fresh. Cut flowers, for example, will look wilted and droopy well before their expiration date.
Many products are sold by the case and marked with a “sell-by” date. Retailers and food service managers use these dates to keep track of their inventory and rotate their supplies regularly.
If a product is past its “sell-by” date, it probably won’t be sold, but it may be put back on the shelves in a marked-down sale.
If a product is past its expiration date, it likely won’t be sold at all. The date also tells you when a product will have deteriorated enough that it can’t be given away. Products that are past their expiration date are likely to be marked down to a lower price, but they won’t appreciate in value.
Expiration dates are not required to be listed in any standard format. While some manufacturers use natural colors like black or brown to indicate a “sell-by” date, others use odd symbols or letters that are difficult to understand.
Here are some suggestions for interpreting various types of expiration dates:
Use-by – The only products that should be discarded after the use-by date is food that has been kept in a refrigerator. Food stored at room temperature should be discarded after the sell-by date since it will not last as long as refrigerated food.
Food kept at a constant, relatively cool temperature will last longer than refrigerated food. Sell-by – You can usually keep items for several days after their “sell-by” date without any change in quality. Use your best judgment to determine if a product is still good.
You can also ask employees at the store if the product is still fresh. Best-by or best if used by – These are marketing terms that put a time frame on when a product will taste best. If an item tastes good to you after the best-by date, keep eating it.
Food experts say that “best-by” dates are not indicators of food safety. Expiration dates are not required to be listed in any standard format. While some manufacturers use natural colors like black or brown to indicate a “sell-by” date, others use odd symbols or letters that are difficult to understand.
Here are some suggestions for interpreting various types of expiration dates:
Use the freshest products first. It can be tempting to use an item past its “sell-by” date, especially if you bought it on sale. But those items are less likely to be at the peak of freshness and more likely to be near the end of its shelf life.
It’s a good idea to use the oldest products first, too. This helps you get the most out of your food budget and prevents you from eating old food.
You can also try to extend the shelf life of products by keeping them in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Some foods are best stored in a covered container to protect them from insects and other pests.
This can help keep foods fresh longer. It’s a good idea to rotate your stock so that older items get used before they expire.
If you eat foods that are past their expiration date, you run the risk of growing ill from food-borne illnesses. To be on the safe side, you might consider discarding any food that is past its expiration date.
To be even more safe, you can separate products that are past their expiration date from those that are still good. Use your best judgment when deciding what to do with expired products.
If you aren’t sure if a product is still good to eat, err on the side of caution and throw it out. You can also donate expired food and other items to local charities or use them for composting to avoid sending food waste to landfills.
You can also try repurposing some items that are past their expiration date. For example, you can make vegetable broth from vegetables that are past the best-by date. You can also repurpose products that are past their expiration date as cleaning supplies.
While expiration dates are useful for managing inventory, most people throw out food that has passed its expiration date. Expiration dates are not always reliable indicators of when a product is no longer safe to eat.
Instead of relying on an expiration date, you could use other indicators to decide when to throw out food. If a product has been sitting in your refrigerator for a few days, it may not taste as fresh as it would if you had just purchased it.
Monitor the quality of your food and the way it looks, smells, and tastes. You could also check the “sell-by” date on packaged goods. If the product looks and smells fine, you could likely keep eating it after the date on the package.
You could also ask the staff at your grocery store about their product rotation system. They might have information about how long products have been sitting on the shelf.
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