Top 5 Facts about Expiration Dates

Spoiler alert! Your food will go bad. Welcome to WatchMojo’s Top 5 Facts. In this instalment we're counting down the five most interesting and important facts that we could find about expiration dates. So, listen closely because this isn’t a video you want to leave to spoil.

Though labelling laws vary by state and country, here’s a general guideline that’s at least good for North America. “Use by” is the indication of when the manufacturer would like the consumer to eat the product. After that date, the product’s quality declines quickly, and may become unsafe. “Sell by” is just for the retailers, it tells them when the product should be taken off the shelf. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad at that date, and if I was a manufacturer, I might want to have a shorter “sell by” date so that the retailer would reorder my product more often. And finally, “Best by” is a timeframe wherein the product will be most flavourful, and have the nutritional content advertised on the label.

Not to be pessimistic, but nothing lasts forever. In fact, many utilities you’ve got stored in your home may have stopped being effective some time ago. Products such as disinfectants, bleach, and batteries often lose their usefulness within just a couple of years or less. This is because their chemical structure eventually degrades over time. Medicine too has a similar effect, but rather than being harmful it can often just weaken their restorative effect - this can lead to a mix-up in dosage, so it’s safer to simply dispose and repurchase.

After that last entry, you might be disappointed hearing your household goods just expired. But don’t go emptying out those shelves just yet because some products last longer than you think. Common dried foods like rice can last up to 25 years. Whereas canned products and twinkies - yes, twinkies - are good for 30 years. That may be impressive, but some common products actually never expire. Honey has an infinite shelf life. Archaeologists have even dug up the ancient jars of honey that, surprisingly, are still edible. It’s so good at fending off the kind of growth that would make it rot that it’s often used as an antiseptic treatment for wounds. Consider adding honey to your doomsday pantry!

As the war on food waste rages on, scientists are coming up with new methods of detecting food deterioration. In 2015, Finnish researchers developed sensors that can detect ethanol, a key indicator of food spoilage. Meanwhile, another team at MIT has created a sensor that can detect gas emission in rotten meat. These devices can help reduce food waste throughout the distribution chain, are easily portable and can give the user a more accurate reading of when a product expires, so you can stop relying on confusing labels or the sniff test. And both devices will be able to interface with your smart phone. In fact...

Sometimes you don’t need a label to tell you when food needs to be eaten now or get thrown away. New apps aim to pair up would-be hungry people with would-be wasted food, including “PareUp” a platform for retailers to sell unexpired food for a discount, and “Trucking Against Hunger” which allows truckers to donate undelivered food to local charities. “Green Egg Shopper”, records purchase and expiry dates for planning ahead. “Food Loop” lets supermarkets send you notifications when prices on short dated items are reduced. And “Food Cowboy” is an app that restaurants can use to give their extra food to non-profits.

Are you guilty of throwing things out too soon? Have you used any of these apps? Until next time, for eternally fresh Top 10s and just a little off Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com!