topic Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things in Community Chat

Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

beach-mom — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 05:20:53 GMT

One thing that's been on my mind lately is expiration dates. I went to use a new packet of dental floss a few days ago, and it had an expiration date on it! DENTAL FLOSS! Really??? How can that product expire? It was plain and unwaxed. Of course it had expired. I stood there holding it, then finally threw it away.

DD won't open a can if it's two days past the stamped date. I will. I work in some food pantries sometimes. We have to check, and I understand that. Some people donate cans that expired 5 years earlier.

But my mom never talked about expiration dates on cans. I don't remember seeing them growing up. Of course she didn't use that many cans. She was careful about dairy products and things like that, but I don't remember seeing a date on a cereal box.

I don't remember makeup having expiration dates until recently. Maybe it has and I've missed it. Now I have trouble reading a date stamped on the crimp of a tube!

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

AuntMame — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 06:10:43 GMT

Not sure what could spoil in dental floss. None of my dental floss containers have an expiration date. Just checked.

Years ago I had a bottle of Paul Mitchell Shampoo with an expired expiration date. I called Paul Mitchell. Their customer service rep said it's meaningless, just use the shampoo, your hair won't fall out.

I have grown mindful of how long I hold onto some packaged foods. Like dried beans, rice, flour. They grow stale after a while even though their expiration date may be a year or longer in the future. I try to use those things up and not let them sit on the shelf forever.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

Tinkrbl44 — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 09:08:54 GMT

@beach-mom

A LOT of those dates are just "Best By" or "Use By" for best results.

If a can of tomatoes has an expiration date of June 30th it doesn't automatically and magically go bad on July 1st.

I've read that several states are changing what's allowed on product labeling. Americans toss approximately $2 billion of perfectly good food into the garbage every year.

Think about that for a moment.

This is the most logical guideline:

Most food is still safe to eat after the expiration date, as these dates often indicate peak quality rather than safety. It's best to use your senses—smell, taste, and appearance—to determine if the food is spoiled

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

CalminHeart — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 11:30:55 GMT

Growing up, there weren't expiration dates on most things or we just ignored them. There were fewer pesticides, preservatives, nitrates, etc, in food back then. example:

Milk was bad when it soured.

Eggs never expired in the fridge.

Canned food was expired if the top was domed.

Lettuce stayed fresh longer.

Soda was in bottles and stayed fizzy much longer.

Now, there are so many additives in food that can make a person sick. I'm not a stickler about expiration dates (except milk) but do watch the condition and taste of products.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

amyb — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 12:56:52 GMT

I too wonder about many things & expiration dates...I pay close attention to some (like on my meats, dairy (except I've often used an unopened yogurt up to a month beyond it's date and it was always fine), less on some others, that I use beyond the dates.

I, like others have said here, use my common sense, instincts, smell, how it looks etc.

@beach-mom I was surprised only recently, on one of my old toiletry purges, noticed my toothpastes and dental flosses had exp. dates?! Toothpaste, I can see, though I'd never even known or thought about it before, and had been using the little travel sized ones that accumulate from the dentist give aways for years over the dates. I'm sure those must have to do with effectiveness of ingredients, like whiteners etc, rather than safety. I did wind up tossing some older little toothpastes. The dental flosses I'm not worried about. I also will NEVER used them in my lifetime I have so many accumulated! I prefer the little picks better, easier, cleaner to use. Why I save the rest I'm not sure, lol.

I can't read the dates half the time either....I just recently was trying to read one on the wrinkled plastic end of a tube, white on white lettering, and said outloud...."If this is SO important WHY do they make it impossible to read?!!" lol

Eggs I've used a week or so beyond date fine.

Condiments I've used up to a year beyond without a problem.(even opened, refrigerated ones.)

I also always tend to feel anything with vinegar in it, pickled, lasts longer than it says....the vinegar curing it.

One time I called Helmann's cust. svc line with a question...they educated me about mayo a lot...said most of the time it's whatever you've made with the mayo that can't sit out (like at picnics) for long, not the mayo that goes bad. And other things they told me that day, can't recall all the details, but overall takeaway was that mayonnaise lasts way longer than we think.

I once took an online class on food safety...very interesting and informative. I can't recall the details; often thought a refresher would be good. I learned about proper temps, how to store leftovers right away, before they sit out 40 degrees or higher, that bacteria starts forming right away then...stuff like that I've kept in mind.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

wagirl — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 13:05:18 GMT

I usually check for expiration dates on canned things or that are in boxes when I buy at the grocery store and when I clean out my pantry and fortunately, DD and I use up the items that spoil the soonest--produce , meats, dairy. bread etc. but one day, I was going thru my many tiny jars of herbs/spices and found--OMG---I still chuckle over this--a tiny jar of cr of tartar---are you ready???? from 1995!!! DD was appalled!!! that is how often---I use cr of tartar. I kept it--not to use, but just to laugh over. I dump liquid make up regularly--just don't wear it much any more and mascara is another one that can smell funky too. Don't remember my mom ever concerned about that--like someone wrote--if it had mold on it or smells bad--out it goes.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

beckyb1012 — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 13:57:04 GMT

I check expiration dates on perishables but can food/pantry items have to be very well past the date for me to throw them out. Same for pain relievers and ointments. A few months ago I took the last two Bufferin in a bottle in my desk drawer at the office. The expiration date said March 2012. Headache disappeared and I am still alive.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

Kachina624 — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 13:59:08 GMT

Last week I pulled out a carton of eggs to check the date. I was amazed to discover they expired in March. I decided to hardboiled them anyway to see how they looked and tasted, then give them to the dog if okay.

They were fine, I ate part of one and it tasted like a normal hard boiled egg. Dog loved them.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

Marsha2003 — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 14:38:28 GMT

I don't pay much attention to expiration dates except on protein and dairy. The only canned product I buy is tuna and it's good for.a long time. I use eggs well past the date on the carton. Mostly, they dry out. If they don't smell bad when cracked, I use them.

I am extremely cautious about cross-contamination and keeping food at safe temperatures.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

cindyNC — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 14:41:19 GMT

I'm funny about meat expiring. As for my eggs, if expiration date is like a month, I always do the "float test" before using them.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

Sooner — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 14:47:55 GMT

My view is fresh is always best. So use up things before their use by date and keep up with it. It's just a cleaning routine now for us. Not much goes past, but what does either is tossed if it's really old, used, or tossed if it is just a tad out of date.

Just don't let things get old and you have less stuff and better stuff. Saying from experience in the last few years. It really is doable but you have to make it a priority.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

SactoSue — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 16:16:52 GMT

I know that suncreen degrades with time and with storage in hot conditions, so I am careful about buying it new yearly and storing it carefully.

Liquid primers, or makeup bases also get old and I'm very careful about discaring them yearly.

Makeup that has multiple-entry containers, like mascara, bottles of liquid or creme foundation or color, lipsticks get bacterial contamination fairly easily. Especially mascara. As I wear contact lenses, the last thing I want is contaminated mascara, so I change mine for a fresh tube at least every 3-6 months, depending on how frequently I am using it. I was using a lash building product but stopped that after a couple of eye infections.

I also just got rid of old formulations of makeup. I don't wear eyeshadow or liner any more, so those will be the next to get culled.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

occasionalrain — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 18:18:41 GMT

@cindyNC

When possible I buy eggs directly from the farm or backyard producer. I like seeing the chickens running free. Because an egg can be missed and older than expected, I always test them in water. Really fresh lie on the bottom. As they age one end tips up. By the time they float, they are too old for me, get boiled and put outside for the farals, raccoon and possum.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

occasionalrain — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 18:34:36 GMT

There is a website called Still Tasty. Before discarding food, check it on the Still Tasty site.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

shoekitty — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 20:58:45 GMT

@occasionalrain wrote:
@cindyNC
When possible I buy eggs directly from the farm or backyard producer. I like seeing the chickens running free. Because an egg can be missed and older than expected, I always test them in water. Really fresh lie on the bottom. As they age one end tips up. By the time they float, they are too old for me, get boiled and put outside for the farals, raccoon and possum.

@occasionalraint Thanks! Great info, I didn't know that about testing eggs!

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

RedTop — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 21:52:33 GMT

For me it makes sense that every product a human will eat or use, has an expiration date. I don't see any food or personal care item being packaged in a factory and able to sit on a shelf for extended lengths of time.

Hospitals toss many thousands of dollars in simple medical supplies like gauze bandages, tongue depressors, cotton swabs and bandaids, not to mention saline and medications, etc.

As for me and dates, I try to use common sense based on the item itself. Generally, I will not automatically throw food out based solely on the date stamped on the package. My exception to that has been with some of the canned and packaged food trucker daughter has had with her on the road that she grows tired of, and stashes here until "the mood strikes her again", which usually doesn't.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

Shelbelle — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 21:59:45 GMT

My feeling is if something smells fine, looks fine, consistency not changed and no change in color use it !!

I once spoke to a rep from Colgate Palmolive, she said their toothpaste is guaranteed to be potent 18 months beyond the exp date, said the date is for legal purposes only.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

Zhills — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 15:14:12 GMT

Expiration dates on food, as we know them today, weren't mandated by the government, but rather adopted by manufacturers in the 1970s to address consumer concerns about freshness.

While these dates, often labeled as "sell-by" or "use-by", are now commonplace, they primarily indicate the manufacturer's estimate of when the product will be at its peak quality, not necessarily when it becomes unsafe.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

ROMARY — Sun, 13 Jul 2025 16:32:27 GMT

Just yesterday I opened a can of cut green beans.......Best by: 2023. Still excellent flavor, and the can was in perfect condition.

I still have a few more that I'll be eating.

Re: Expiration Dates on Food, Makeup, and Other Things

bargainsgirl — Sun, 13 Jul 2025 16:39:59 GMT

I go by smell and taste and if something has mold obviously out it goes. For the most part I ignore expiration dates. I have used canned goods that expired 3 years before I used them. I'm still here...