Okay Here's Perhaps A Dumb Question: But Just How Do They Come Up With....

Hi pye, I am bit weary about eggs so I only buy half a dozen and I don't buy yogurts, bread don't last long in my house so it don't get time to mould and froen food should be ok, its frozen, and no, I've no idea how they come about deciding on sell by or est by date. Bright Blessings. Tamara

I have always heard that expiration dates are more like suggestions more than hard dates - especially the "Best Buy" dates. I don't know exactly where the dates come form, but I have a feeling someone in the USDA made them up years and years ago and they haven't' been tested recently. The US wastes more food than it probably consumes, I'd bet a lot if has to do with those dates.

This isn't a dumb question, Pye. I never gave it much thought myself but now wonder about those dates. If the food is frozen, the dates don't bug me so much. I have food in my freezer that's 2yrs. old and still good. I know canned foods aren't any good if their accidently frozen. I'm gonna keep my eye on this discussion to see if anyone can answer this. lol

okay, somethings are not expiration dates, they are sell by dates - this goes for milk, cheese, etc. Some things are expiration dates, that doesn't mean they won't be good after that, just that they might not be good. Other things, like my liquid amoxocillin does go bad after 10 days and it probably won't make me sick, but it probably won't help either

They pull them out of a hat. It is my contention that "expiration dates" are nothing more than a marketing ploy. "Oh, this is past the date. Better throw it out and buy some more." Yeah, right. Some years ago, when cleaning out my fridge, I came across a brick of Kraft Philadelphi cream cheese that was supposedly TWO YEARS past the expiration date. It was still good, if a little dryer than usual.

I think expiration dates ore a corporation's way of convincing you that you have to get rid of this product after this date and replace it so that they make more money. I may just be cynical, but it seems like there are a lot of products that stores throw away after the date on the box. I know the stores use it as a "sell by" date after which they either return the product for a credit or they just throw it out because they can't sell it any more. I know some stores discount these products greatly just a few days before the expiration date so that they can recover some of their money. I know in the case of gum and candy, the products often get hard after the coded date that is on them so you wouldn't want to chew or eat it. Yes, gum and candy does have a code for expiration date if you know how to read it. Thanks for bringing up the topic.

It is actually not a stupid Question, I have to admit I never thought of that before but now that you have mentioned it, I wonder to how they come up with the Dates I really can not answer this but would be Interested to know the answer to

The manufacturers of products know best the shelf life of their goods. They must have some kind of scientific research on the durability of their products. According to one source, it is a manufacturer law to record the date of manufacture and the date of expiry on their products. But in actual fact the products can have longer life span then the date of its expiry. Even after the expiration date,the products remain good and no changes in its components. I guess it is just a formality to have to put the expiry date. It is up to individual's common sense to check whether the products are still fit for human consumption.

That's a very nice question but hopefully there's an experts here to answer that info about those expiration dates. That's a good idea if we know how they come up on any such particular date to be expire of any product. I hope somebody will answer your question for us to know.

For most things, they've done lab testing - doing chemical analyses on the items at different intervals to know just when the structures begin to break down or lose efficacy. Mom's doctor told me that for the most part, you can continue to use medications beyond their expirations for as much as 6 months, but they put a time frame on them to prevent potential toxicity of some and inefficiency of others. Foods are still good (in a can) beyond the expiration date, but if they're dented and not swollen, use right away. A dented can is not automatically ruined, but because it can weaken the seal, you need to use them a lot sooner.

Hello! I always think about things like that as well . For the most part I follow the dates and even throw things out a few days before: like with yogurt and milk . Or My fiance will just eat it haha, because he dont mind eating things on the date it says it went bad. I am so picky when it comes to my lunchmeat , because once I had some when it was spoiled and it made me real sick . Will only buy a hlaf pund for myself and have it done by the 3rd day. Hate that slime feel and all . Like I have saw here alot of people said they do lab testing. I used to at one time rememeber when growing up my family had this little chart on their fridge of a list of foods and when and when not they are good/bad. Okay ;) Happy lotting

As long as you use common sense, I don't think that expiration dates on non-refrigerated goods mean much. The federal govt requires them of baby formulas, and the Dept of Agriculture requires them on chickens that have been packaged at the farm. Other foods, mostly meat and dairy are probably regulated on a state level. Mostly I think they help a store to rotate their stock better. Older products may have different UPC codes, making it harder to keep track of scanned pricing and sale prices. Our local mom & pop grocery store is great in how they rotate their shelved products. Anything within 2 to 4 weeks of the expiration date is marked down to half price. I've saved a pile of money buying those items, and have never had a problem with them. I've not noticed any quality or flavor changes at all. Here is a good INFORMATION ONLY article I found that you might find interesting: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/oct2006/db20061002_959305.htm?campaign_id=rss_topStories

I do pay attention to expiration dates, but more over I know how long my own home canned goods will keep and frozen meats. I do know that the expiration dates on frozen foods is for freezer burn. Because the meats that I get processed from out own cattle or hogs will stay good in the freezer for about a year. After that you're looking at freezer burn. As for canned goods, that worries me a bit. I found an old can of pumpkin in my cupboard (story bought) and saw it was 3 years old. I opened it and the pumpkin was a really gross color. Yet, canned foods make in earlier years didn't go bad. My father remembers when he was in the reserves - around early 60's and he said on some training excersizes they were eating some packaged foods (if you can call chocolate covered ants food) dating back to WW2. I think the metals have changed on canned foods and that is why they don't keep as long. Plus you add in that we have way more preservatives what I think break down those metals or, my own thinking, is that they can only be frozen for a certain amount of time. How reliable are then? I try not to by prepackage too much for the simple reason you never really know how old it is before it was packaged or gets to the store to begin with. I think for testing they would just do bacteria cultrues on things to and take an average on it, then decide what kind of date they're going to put on the packaging.

It's actually an interesting question. They use to ways. First method: Like you said they put the product in a refridgarator and wait until it gets bad. Second method: This one is much more expensive. They use the same thing to determine the age of dinosaur bones and such. They put the product in a room with led walls. Then they shoot it with beta radiation. When the product disolves completely they take the time and put it into a formula. Beta radiation is about 750% faster then the normal climate.

I dunno.. but I use my own guesstimate.. if it's food and you can't identify it anymore.. it's probably not good anymore! if it's medicine and you take one pill and notice that you can now hear cars honk in the next state over from ya.. take 3 more! you ain't gonna buy booze that potent! I seriously don't have a clue how they come up with expiration dates.. I think the FDA has a fairy or crystal ball! it's a mystery! just like.. how long is a piece of tape when someone asks for a piece? do ya give em a mile or what? I dunno!

this question does not cross my mind. i just assume that they know what they do . i just trust the date written on it. anyways, after all they are expert on this and they have spent a lot of money for their business and i believe they will not give wrong false information.

I think a lot of them are based on trials - particularly fresh foods. But I honestly think that some things just get an expiration date based on how long they've tested them for, things like medicine. They might actual be good for three or four years but they have only been tested as far as two, that kind of thing. I also think a lot of stuff gets very 'safe' expiration dates just so you need to get more/replace it more often.

Apparently the government has decreed that everything that is sold must have an expiration date on it. I have seen expiration dates on some really strange things, things that would never lose their effectiveness. Stuff that would survive a nuclear reaction. They probably just have a monkey in a cage pointing at a calendar. I don't pay attention to the dates only the condition of the product.