expiration dates

[Bogie]

Looking at the quart of half'n'half I got at Aldi today...
 
1) It isn't their usual "branding." I don't recognize the packaging/logo.
 
2) The expiration date is in... March. Holy bleep - did they irradiate this until it started to glow, or what?

[French G.]

UHT pasteurized and good packaging. I usually keep a few boxes of shelf stable milk to save a trip to the store.

The rest of the dates beyond dairy is mostly recommendations or lawyers. I used a bunch of 2017 canned chicken to make quick chicken soup. The broth was canned and soup base, the chicken was canned, vegetables fresh. Way quicker than picking down a chicken carcass.

2014 canned cheese was pretty good too. 

[griz]

Funny you should mention that.  Just today I bought a pint of heavy cream, and it says it's good into February.  I doubt that.  I'll admit I'm sensitive to any sour smell but I'm happy if any dairy product is usable at the date stamped on the carton.  Most other stuff seems fine WAY past the expiration date.   Two years for canned soft drinks or water?  That's as pessimistic as the milk is optimistic.

By the way, yesterday I was cleaning up and came across a new light stick in its original wrapper.  It said best if used by 1993.  It did work but wasn't as bright as a fresh one.

[Bogie]

DIet soda, if not kept in a coolish area, gets a serious whang to it... Had a guy at the lake got a deal on a truckload, and stuffed it in a conex... It was frickin' gnarsty...

[K Frame]

Half and half typically has longer expiration dates because there's such a low amount of whey to fat. The less whey, which is protein, the longer it will last.

[HankB]

DIet soda, if not kept in a coolish area, gets a serious whang to it... Had a guy at the lake got a deal on a truckload, and stuffed it in a conex... It was frickin' gnarsty...

Beat me to it - diet soda doesn't seem to last too long beyond the freshness date. Beer, too, but that usually isn't around long enough to expire.

I've heard of some hideously expensive very old vintage wines seriously disappointing the rich connoisseurs who bought them once they were opened up. ("See, I'm so rich I spent $10k on this wine - have a sip and tell me what you think!"     )

Hmmm . . . I found an unopened box of panko bread crumbs in the back of my pantry with a freshness date of (drum roll please) . . . 2013. Wonder if they're stale. 

[BobR]

My wife thinks expiration dates carry the weight of the law, I just consider them a soft suggestion.


bob

[Kingcreek]

I remember when my stepdaughter was in K or 1st grade. She somehow learned about “due to be gross dates” at school and wouldn’t touch anything from a package without inspecting the date.
Wine. If stored properly can last many years but it does peak and reach a point where it declines even in proper storage. I had (I say had not purchased) a 1938 French Bordeaux and it was interesting that so many qualities remained but we could have had a better 2020 red off the shelf.