The TRUTH about Expiration Dates - Part 2‏

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Jason Richards

Thank you for joining me for the second part of this article. We have prepared a special chart at the end of it, so keep reading.

"Discard by" date

The "Discard by" date is being used less and less by the food industry however; you may still find it on some products. If you do then it is best to discard the product on this date as the manufacturer is claiming the food may not be safe after this date. You may see this on some dairy products, produce and a few packaged items.

Normally this is only found on baby foods and formula. The reason for this is your baby generally cannot tell you when an item tastes or smells bad and we all know baby food generally tastes and smells bad anyway so, how would you even know? Those funny little faces our babies make when eating could mean anything. The answer is you do not know, so it is a best practice to throw baby food and formula away when it expires. The same applies to any other food product you find with an actual expiration date.

"Closed" and "Coded" systems

What do those codes mean? Well this is where it gets really, and I mean REALLY, confusing. The codes you see on the sides of cans, cereal boxes, jars, jugs, packages and so forth are manufacturing codes which are often referred to as "lots" or "batch codes". Sometimes we make ourselves believe there is some hidden "Da Vinci" style or cryptographic code and we have all tried to figure these things out. The truth is these are codes the manufacturer uses to identify several factors at once.

The numbers may change based on a variety of things including but not limited to, the date, the ingredients, plant, machine and so forth. They may also identify the source of certain ingredients such as the farm cows or chickens were purchased from, the supplier of ingredients for that particular batch and so on. These are also used to identify certain batches that may be included in a recall.

"Can Codes"

Cans must exhibit a packing code to enable tracking of the product in interstate commerce. This enables manufacturers to rotate their stock as well as to locate their products in the event of a recall. These codes, which appear as a series of letters and/or numbers, might refer to the date or time of manufacture. They are not meant for the consumer to interpret as "use-by" dates. There is no book or Web site that tells how to translate the codes into dates.

Cans may also display "open" or calendar dates. Usually these are "best if used by" dates for peak quality. Canned foods are safe indefinitely as long as they are not exposed to freezing temperatures, or temperatures above 90 °F (32.2° C). If the cans look ok, they are generally safe to use. Discard cans that are dented, rusted, or swollen. High-acid canned foods (tomatoes, fruits) will keep their best quality for 12 to 18 months; low-acid canned foods (meats, vegetables) for 2 to 5 years.

The charts below are supplied by the USDA and we hope you find them helpful.

Refrigerator Home Storage (at 40 °F [4.4 °C] or below) of Fresh or Uncooked Products

If product has a "use-by" date, follow that date.

If product has a "sell-by" date or no date, cook or freeze the product by the times on the following chart.

Refrigerator Storage of Fresh or Uncooked Products

Product & Storage Times After Purchase

Poultry 1 or 2 days

Beef, Veal, Pork and Lamb 3 to 5 days

Ground Meat and Ground Poultry 1 or 2 days

Fresh Variety Meats (Liver, Tongue, Brain, Kidneys, Heart, Chitterlings) 1 or 2 days

Cured Ham, Cook-Before-Eating 5 to 7 days

Sausage from Pork, Beef or Turkey, Uncooked 1 or 2 days

Eggs 3 to 5 weeks

Refrigerator Home Storage (at 40 °F [4.4 ºC] or below) of Processed Products Sealed at Plant

If product has a "use-by" date, follow that date.

If product has a "sell-by" date or no date, cook or freeze the product by the times on the following chart.

Processed Product

Cooked Poultry Unopened After Purchase 3 to 4 days After Opening 3 to 4 days

Cooked Sausage Unopened After Purchase 3 to 4 days After Opening 3 to 4 days

Sausage, Hard/Dry, shelf-stable Unopened After Purchase 6 weeks/pantry After Opening 3 weeks

Corned Beef, uncooked in pouch with pickling juices Unopened After Purchase 5 to 7 days/pantry After Opening 3 to 4 days

Vacuum-packed Dinners Unopened After Purchase 2 weeks After Opening 3 to 4 days

Bacon Unopened After Purchase 2 weeks After Opening 7 days

Hot dogs Unopened After Purchase 2 weeks After Opening 1 week

Luncheon meat Unopened After Purchase 2 weeks After Opening 3 to 5 days

Ham, fully cooked Unopened After Purchase 7 days After Opening 7 days

Ham, canned, labeled “keep refrigerated” Unopened After Purchase 9 months After Opening 3 to 4 days

Ham, canned, shelf stable Unopened After Purchase 2 years/pantry After Opening 3 to 4 days

Canned Meat and Poultry Unopened After Purchase 2 to 5 years/pantry After Opening 3 to 5 days

 

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A couple things come to mind. Years ago, we used to buy acidophilus milk. Someone discovered how to put an acidophilus material in drinking milk. Milk usually lasts a certain number of days if you keep it cool. After that date, feel free to drink it if it still doesn't taste sour.

Something about the chemical structure of acidophilus milk would make the taste go to an intolerable state long before the milk actually soured. You simply could not choke it down after that date. I believe they had the correct date all right.

In our factory, we had an ARA area. I loved the ARA tomato juice, and used to drink a can in the afternoon break.

In winter, when I got it the stuff would be frozen solid. I called the manufacturer's number to ask, and was told if the can experienced freezing, it should be discarded, and was not considered safe.

I tried talking to the local ARA people who simply didn't care. We assumed it sat in their truck hours at a time in cold weather, maybe even overnight and froze as a result.

I had to stop drinking the stuff in winter. This was not the manufacturer's fault.

Here in Mexico, the expiration data is called fecha de caducidad. The Mexican people take that data as Biblical in nature, and will throw it away after that date. If you offer them some snack whose data has passed, they will look at you as if you are trying to kill them.

Most of us know that many things can well be consumed past those dates. Those dates are an estimate of quality levels. I read not long ago for example that aspirin can be used as long as it is firm and crisp. Many things are like that. Just don't blame the manufacturer if you eat something past its quality date and it has an off-taste.

One thing that can harm you is tetracycline antibiotic. Past its date it becomes toxic, or so I have read many times.

My wife is Mexican, so she also learned to treat those cad. dates as law. We bring stuff with us when we come back from Texas, and at times she misplaces them for a year or two. (The hazards of being rich. ) She has learned to evaluate them by smell and a small sample tasted, and we have used them for a year or two. If she finds somethng 3 or 4 years out of date, she usually pitches it without evaluating it.