Expiration Dates?
 

Has anyone else been noticing a shorter shelf life for food lately? I don't mean, for instance, organic with fewer preservatives. I mean stores are stocking food that expires more quickly than it used to.

When I started buying Trader Joe's flatbread, I had a good 7-8 days to use it. For the last several weeks it's been hard to find one that doesn't expire in 3 or 4 days. When we miss the market I often buy fruit at TJs, but all of the berries in the middle of the pack are already moldy the day I buy them.

Tom just went to Ralph's and found that all containers of my favorite sour cream was already expired. Fresh salsa from there is hardly good for a week now.

Are people buying fewer groceries in the budget crunch, and thusly they're trying to sell the older ones first? Is it the summer heat? I'm not sure what's going on, but it's getting harder to be value-minded and to avoid wasting all of what I'm buying.

I've noticed shoter pull dates on some things as well lately. I'd guess that people are just buying less - so it's sitting on the shelf longer.

Oh oh!

.....


Whew! My stock of twinkies is still good. That was a close one...

Us too - we seem to not find food dated up past a few days anymore.

People are buying less, and/or buying cheaper processed items instead, I bet.

It's also possible they are consolidating deliveries to save gas and fresh stock is not being delivered as often.

It could simply be a change in the FDA regulations for what can be printed as the shelf life.

Other than perhaps milk/cream (perhaps), I don't pay a whole lot of attention to expiration dates. And even for the few things I do pay attention to, I only do so in a relative sense (i.e., this carton of whipping cream is 2 days newer than this carton) rather than caring how far out the particular date is. Expiration dates are 1) approximations and 2) more often "sell by" dates than expiration meant to provide a borderline that gives as close to 0% chance that any individual product hasn't gone bad yet. That doesn't mean (and I know you know this) that those things go bad at midnight of the day printed on the container. It just means that after that date there is no longer a 0% chance of age-related spoilage. What that non-zero chance is depends on how it's stored (or fridge, for instance, is downright magical and keeps eggs for literally a couple months just fine)

Have you been noticing things actually going bad faster, or have you just been assuming so based on the dates?

Oh, I look at the dates, but there's no doubt that it definitely goes bad faster, too. For instance, I used to be able to buy sour cream that would be useful for about three weeks. Now it gets full-scale fuzzy by the second week. Fresh salsa starts to turn black within a week.

It's not our fridge. We buy a lot of stuff straight from the farmers, and that lasts perfectly well.

It isn't a change in my buying habits, either - I've been buying mostly natural, less-processed stuff for a long time, and I've been buying (nearly) the exact same groceries every week for almost four months now.

I honestly haven't noticed. I buy Horizon Organic milk, and when I bought it in June I noticed it expired after Disneyland's birthday.

I look at the dates as sell by dates, not expiration dates too.

H, maybe it's the brand? What brand are you buying?

Different brands in different stores.

For instance, for sour cream, I've noticed the problem in Knudson's, Trader Joe's, Ralph's, and Horizon Organic. Those came from Ralph's, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods.

Funny this should come up, as I was thinking the very same thing! It's gotten to the point where I've had to change my shopping habits, and end up tossing things I swore used to last longer. I've been helping myself with smaller quantities from the local fruit/veggie stand, but there are some things I just can't seem to get away from the expiry on.

I should look up whether the FDA has made a change (shouldn't be hard to find) - though I'm inclined to believe people are buying less, thus, stuff is "on the shelf" or at least back at the warehouse longer

I noticed it too -- about two weeks ago. Around the same time I was horrified at how much food costs now. I tend to buy more frozen stuff than I ever have before due to these two factors. Good thing I don't really like milk products, as those things rarely get bought anymore...

I actually noticed this myself. I have always checked dates, having been stuck with expired formula in the past. Always careful with the baby food, made me more careful with all food.

Bread, at both Vons and Ralphs, the expiration date can be that day or just a couple of days later. Before I'd have at least a week, almost ten days, until the fresh/sell by date.

Milk, also, not as long as it used to be.

I had bought some taco seasoning, figuring that stuff lasts forever. Nope. It all expired. And, I only recently started buying this stuff so it isn't that old. Went to buy more and most of the expiration dates were in August. I found a few that were January '09 and one for April 09 but the rest were to expire pretty quickly.

It isn't right, I don't like to use old food. And, if you call, they tell you not to eat it, also. I had a bunch of Mac & Cheese that was less than a month past its' date and called, they told me not to eat it.

I'm also buying more frozen or else buying only what I plan to consume in a few days. This is NOT good for budgeting! You should be able to buy for over a week and then some to help the dollar stretch.

And, I am not just saying this because I work at the bullseye but I've noticed their prices on a lot of things are way better than the markets. And, comparable on a lot of other things.

Maybe they're putting less preservatives in there?

I tend to buy my canned, dry goods and some frozen things at Target. They are a lot cheaper the the grocery store. Well a lot cheaper if you can resist buying electronics, DVDs and all the other wonderful stuff they carry.

I buy produce, eggs and dairy at Henry's (double ad Wednesday's) and if I need meat I'll hit Ralph's (do that maybe once a month).

I'm trying to think what I buy regularly that has an expiration date on it. Cheese and yogurt are the only dairy staples I buy (and they get eaten pretty quickly). I rarely buy bread. Meat gets frozen until use. I regularly have fruit and veggies go bad, but that's just our normal MO when things get busy.

Of course, I'd probably notice more if I checked expiration dates before using. ;) If it's not green and fuzzy, it's good.

You made me think of George Carlin's Icebox Man routine.

Does this mean that Kermit is bad?

I had noticed this too and asked my local grocer. He said they aren't getting deliveries as often with the price of gas. He lso said the bakery had cut back because they were trying to not waste as much. It was the milk that got my attention because instead of having two weeks to drink it's usually one now.

You can freeze bread too, if you eat it really slowly. My bread eating rate actually went up since I'm home and trying to eat sandwiches for lunch to save money. Speaking of which, I've finally found a wheat bread I like: Sara Lee's Honey Wheat. It's tasty!

Now that you mention that, Morri, a friend of mine used to freeze milk. Yep, if milk gets bad that much quicker, then, it will get bad in our house.

I try and offset that by buying cereal and having the kids eat it for snacks instead of other stuff.

But, so, this means that they are making less deliveries and the stores are stocking up on it and putting it out as needed? So, the thing is to know when they receive their deliveries so that if it is close, you might just wait for the next fresh shipment?

And, we will eat the bread as long as it isn't moldy or smells bad. The kids don't know...I dont tell them. ;)

Have you seen the price of cereal lately?

You get what, 5 bowls per box? $4-$5 per box (seriously, have you SEEN the price of cereal lately?). I've chosen to snack and breakfast on TJ's Chocolatey-Coated Chocolate Chip Dunkers. Two Dunkers and a glass of milk sets me up quite nicely. And you get way more than 5 snacks/breakfasts per tub of Dunkers.

I bought a couple boxes of Frosted Flakes recently because it was marked down to 2/$4, but overall, I find it too expensive now.

Yes, you can freeze milk. Works just fine (don't worry about the color of it when frozen, it goes back to white when it thaws.)

I buy cereal at Target, with coupons, or when it's on super duper sale at the store. The size of the boxes also shrunk, but when I use the serving size (usually 3/4 of a cup to a cup) I can get 2 weeks of work breakfast out of the box. Since I'm trying to portion control it's working well for me.

Oh yeah, Target has better prices on cereals. Try them, Morri. And, something I found, womens {I guess mens as well} disposable shavers, Ralphs' did not have a generic inexpensive brand at all! I found some at Target for pretty cheap, nothing similar at Ralphs', just expensive.

I'll have to remember the milk tip, it is way too expensive to buy them seperately.

Morri, how long have you been buying cereal? A while back (I foorget 5-8 years maybe) there was a big news blitz that the cereal companies were ripping off the public, price fixing, and the like. So in response they reduced the prices from $6 a box to $3-4 a box. Now, along with everything else, they are back up to $4-5 a box and the boxes are getting smaller. I always look for the sales, and yes Target and Walmart type stores are cheeper than Grocery chains.

And BTD, you actually eat the serving size of 3/4 cup? That's like 3 spoonfulls! I would have never thought anyone did that!!

Yes, I do. Cheerio's is a cup I believe, and much more than 3 spoonfulls. Grapenuts is half a cup (and super fattenig! :eek: ) which is also more than 3 spoonfulls. Don't use such a big spoon ;)

Have you seen the price of cooking oil?! I went to buy some tonight and it has doubled in price!

As far as cereal goes, I buy it on super sale at Safeway and always print of coupons from the manufacturer. Last time I bought 4 boxes for 3.25 and that was brand name cereal too!

Our store says they're just not ordering as much and hopefully it will cut back on waste. Of course I live in a tiny town and it may cost more to get here, who knows!

Because cooking oil relies a lot on corn.

Oh, and tonight I was planning on grabbing some Dreyer's ice cream... till I saw their new size. WTF? I hate when they pull that. So I voted with my dollars and bought the store brand, which was 1.75qts instead of 1.5qts (which Dreyer's and Breyer's have gone to). Of course, neither is 1/2 gallon.

Um, here's the deal on "expiration" dates: Companies want you to buy more of their product. The date printed on meat and dairy is a "sell by" date. The product should be good in a cold refrigerator for a week after the date. Dry goods, canned goods, etc., sometimes have a "best by" date. Ignore this, it's a completely arbitrary number. If its gone rancid, you'll smell it. Otherwise, use the groceries you've paid for. Macaroni and cheese in a box is something that would take a year or so to go funky. Of course the company is going to tell you to throw it away if its past the fake date. They want you to give them more money.

I once had a customer call me, demanding to know why my product didn't have an expiration date. When I explained to him that my product was good for at least a month, if stored in a cool place more like 90 days, he would not be mollified. "Every other product has an expiration date! Why doesn't yours?" I couldn't convince him that this was not true. Go through the grocery store, there are still plenty of products that don't suddenly and magically "expire" from one day to the next. When he suggested that I might be looking at a lawsuit, I thanked him for his suggestions, told him to throw away my product, and, if he really felt the need, I would notify my insurance company and lawyer. What a maroon.

So, it boils down to this. Keep the fridge door closed. Store your dry goods in a cool, dry place. Don't buy dented cans. Close the fridge. Keep meat in the coolest part of the fridge and freeze what you're not going to use in 3 days. Don't stand in front of the fridge with the door open. Processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, and lunchmeat are full of preservatives, keep them until they smell odd. Eggs last forever.

And close the damn fridge door!

And don't read in the dark.

Here in Switzerland, most stuff has a sell by date and a use by date. I'm always appalled to find things at our local Whole Foods that are past their date. Of course, I'm also appalled when the butcher/fish man gives me the pieces from the top and back that are less fresh and look it.

On the subject of planned obsolescence in food, I'm also convinced that the egg candler of old has been replaced by an egg tapper. I'm finding more cracked eggs than ever when I check a carton.

Do you swap out broken eggs for good ones, or do you go through cartons until you find a full dozen unbroken? I only ask because I was taught to swap, but I occasionally get funny looks in the store when I do this.

Switzerland?

I don't swap. I figure the egg people owe me the satisfying experience of twelve loose wiggles.

Or maybe I just never thought of it.

While I generally ignore expiration dates (except when I realize it's been a while since I've opened something, I have definitely noticed foods spoiling sooner. Perhaps the title of this thread is misleading, at least toward what I'm experiencing, particularly with milk (which has in the past month or so spoiled twice before the expiration date).

As for other items, I don't think I buy much with an expiration date... just milk, pre-made broth. I'm just noticing that the cheese is fuzzier sooner, chips are stale more quickly.

That fits with the concept of a reduced delivery schedule to the store. Products are sitting longer in the warehouse or on loading docs where the storage conditions might be less than perfect.

Indeed. And it's what I'm experiencing, too.

Gn2Dland, I don't think this as anything to do with companies faking expiration dates. This topic came up because I noticed food spoiling quickly after purchase; particularly things that I used to use up over the course of weeks. Only then did I start checking expiration dates, which, sure enough, had passed more quickly than they used to.

I think the lack of deliveries could explain it - but, perhaps they need to order LESS STOCK because when they're selling sour cream that has already passed its date, even though it will last awhile longer than its date, I STILL can't use it all before it starts to go fuzzy.

We eat mostly fresh foods. Hardly anything from a can. No meat, only salmon, and I'm not having a problem with that. So far, we're only having this problem with dairy (fat free yogurt, fat free sour cream, skim milk) and bread (pita, low-carb tortillas, and english muffins.) We don't buy fruit or vegetables from grocery stores - I shudder to think how quickly THOSE would go bad!

Actually, now that I think of it, bread was going rather quickly, too. I just figured it had something to do with where I'm storing it. It's just above the sink with other items, since I have a 'storage space' issue in my kitchen.

I've actually been (purposely) buying bread less and eating more salads (which I presume is good since I'm often dressing-free, or at most a few pumps of that balsamic spritzer stuff) - but when I do, I've been putting it in the fridge, which seems to help it keep a bit longer (though I always seem to enjoy the bread less).

I buy my cereal at Trader Joes (Optimum with Blueberries and Flax) that has lots of "good stuff" in it and no sugar and organic to boot. It's like $3.50 and lasts me a week.

I figured that the bigger issue in terms of the cost of corn, etc, at least this year, was rising fuel costs and the floods in the Midwest. Damage to crops is being cited as why stock in ethanol has plummeted, though there are sources that cite ethanol being precisely the reason for high prices of foods. (I prefer to think it's always a storm of several events that cause most situations, especially this one, given the history of subsidies, government action, consolidation, etc, of the corn industry).

I do agree that others sources should be preferred, especially when there are crops, such as a kind of grass I can't remember that would have a higher yeild of ethanol, and would be easier to refine (it's pricey to refine corn into ethanol). If they were that hung up on corn, you could use the kernel for food and the rest could be.

Back on topic, I just noticed that the yogurt I just bought four days ago will expire in 4 more days. WTF? I think it'll still be good, but seriously...

Oh, I was just shocked that Mousewife threw away taco seasoning and boxed mac & cheese. Didn't mean to derail your misleadingly named thread. :evil:

To rerail, I have not experienced food going bad faster. I do know, however, that when Chernajoe buys tortillas, they go moldy faster because the kitchen is warmer in summer. I had some chocolate in the cupboard go all melty, too. It could just be that you're noticing things you wouldn't normally refrigerate going bad faster because it's summer. Some people store food on top of the fridge or next to Mr. Coffee, where it gets warm, too. For crackers and cereal, Zip-loc bags are your friends.

Among the couple of things I know, food storage is right up there. :rolleyes:

We keep almost everything in the fridge (including tortillas.) Not ideal, but helps stuff last. But even that isn't helping right now - the biggest problem has been with dairy which we'd never keep anywhere but in the fridge. And like I said, fridge isn't the problem either - our farm market produce is AOK.

I'm going to Henry's today. I'll check out the expiration dates on dairy.

The tortilla's I bought from Target lasted a few months. I tossed them because I wasn't going to eat them.

I always keep bread in the freezer.

I buy the dairy products for our little office fridge. Since they're for guests and my one boss who rarely shows I try to find the pull dates that are the furthest out. I used to be able to find for instance yogurts that had about a 3-4 week out pull date. Now that seems to have shortened down to a couple of weeks or less. The same with milks. My guess is people are buying less and as has been said the stores are getting fewer deliveries meaning stuff stays on the shelves longer.

Just returned from Henry's. The dairy I looked at had sell by dates of July 23rd or the 30th. The stuff for the 30th was in the back.

A gallon of Horizon organic whole milk was $6.50. Half gallon was $3.50. I wasn't buying milk and they were stocking so I didn't want to make the guy move. They looked like their sell by dates were July 30. In the past when I bought Horizon milk the sell by date was several weeks away. I didn't dig back to see if there was stuff further back or not.

I also bought a ton of fresh produce for about $20. Seems like all the good stuff (peaches, plums, tomatoes, grapes, pineapple) were all on sale. It will most likely go bad before I eat it all, but that is because I always buy more than I can eat.

I always buy our vegetables Pre-Rotted. It saves time maturing them in the Vegetable 'Crisper' in the fridge.

Six Fifty for a gallon of milk??

I still think we'd be better off removing the import tariffs on sugar and "encouraging" companies to stop using corn syrup.

And maybe move towards a more general biodiesel fuel.

Even regular milk is nearly $4/gallon these days. You can drink it or you can drive it, it seems.

Yup. Now, Horizons is organic, but a gallon of 1% milk at Von's is $4.59.

I'm skeeved out by milk and will for the most part only drink organic, or stuff with no hormones or other crap in it (just milk, meat and other stuff I'm not that picky - prefer organic but I'll eat preservatives).

$4.50 for milk is no big deal, but $6.50, jeez that's a jump. I'm not into organics so I had no idea.

Glad I don't drink milk - however, I believe the price of cognac has gone up over the years - no big jumps recently, but for that I blame the weak dollar.

I buy half gallons and try to get them 2/$6. I like TJs milk, but I find it cheaper to pay more for milk at Henry's (aka I don't buy random yumminess at Henrys).

*sigh* I miss TJs.

I do, however, get some good, local, relatively inexpensive produce around here, so I probably shouldn't complain. And we have local cheese makers. The cheese... outstanding. And, they import the good stuff from outside.

YUM.

Blessed are the cheesmakers!

Who wants some Comté? Abondance? Tomme? Raclette?

So say we all!

American? Velveeta?

The way I felt getting out of bed today, I've passed my expiration date.

Aw, I feel like this now and again. I think you just put the name on it.

That load of mac & cheese I tossed out; I wasn't going to. I had it in my trunk to take to my sis as her kids love it {and mine quit eating it} but then we never made it to her house and it was hot, so darn hot, I figured that was not a 'cool, dry, place' so then we tossed it.

What about sunscreen? I had some that had expiration dates and then one, that I can not remember when I purchased, does not. I've also seen it on some lotions.

I'd like some Wensleydale, please. (If it's not too runny).

Oh no!.... The cat's eaten it.

It's CHEEEEEEESE, Grommit!

We've got a bottle of sunscreen that's at least 10 years old (actually I think it's more like 15) that still works fine. I'm way too cheap to give up on that old bottle until it's empty :D

Me, too!!! This is a big bottle of the kids Coppertone, Costco size. And, it isn't all gunky and full of sand or anything so it even still looks good!

Oh, I am cheap. I have a bag full of shampoos and stuff from hotels that I toss in the bag for when a hotel doesn't have enough or when the kids spend the night somewhere. I don't think I'll ever use them up but I still have them.

OTC pills last at least a year past their date. They start losing potency, but they are still good.

Same here, though I have no idea what I'll use that shampoo for, since I'm kind of picky about that. I'm currently out of tiny hotel soaps for hand washing and I'm too cheap to buy some, so big bath bar it is ;)

I once had a guest call up and ask if she could give her husband some Valium that expired in 1992.

He had a fever of 102 and she wanted him to stop bitching to her about it so she thought Valium was the way to go.

Bar soap~I was shocked to see a big pack {it was either 6 or 9, whatever the big packs are} of Ivory soap for $2.99. I was really impressed and that isn't a sale price.

The little shampoos can also be used to wash hand washables. Right? Yeah, I don't always like the little ones but when it is Neutragena and pretty bottles, I like to keep it.

Oh, Frodo, too funny. You can only imagine how much he was bitching for her to even consider giving that to him!!!

Good to know about the meds. :snap:

You may remember than Lani collected them once at a MouseAdventure, but such items can be sent to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hmm, forgot about that. Need to tackle the under-sink cabinet someday, and that's a pretty good incentive.

In a previous job, I used to travel a lot. I collected the hotel soaps/shampoos/etc. and donated them to the Women's shelter.

Alex & Kevy Baby, both great ideas! Thanks!!

Now I've been seeing the ridiculous ice cream thing. 1.75 qt., not EVEN a 1/2 gallon, being replaced with 1.5 qt. containers, sitting in the freezer next to each other, at the same price! This sort of "maybe the customer won't notice" bullsh!t drives me crazy.

Oh, and I bought some "manager's special" prepared hot wings last night that had already turned bad. I called the store and will take them back.

I've been hearing a lot of complaints about the size of the ice cream containers. Since I normally buy pints I haven't noticed (and last time I bought them they were still pints).

Ice cream is so not on my diet... <sigh>

Good, let me "Tap" (Sorry SL) your knowledge then...

Every now and then, I get an egg (or two) that has a milkiness about it - yolk looks fine, albumen has gone cloudy.

I have been throwing these eggs out - are they OK ?

The eggs are usually from my Lite N Easy delivery - which has some CO2 blocks in with it to keep it all cold. Could this be what's making the eggs go milky ?

Could be. I'm sure they're fine.

Rotten eggs are hard to miss.

Never mind - It's the Co2 doing it !! I found this:

Cloudy whites
This condition is noticeable in freshly laid or oil-treated fresh eggs. It is caused by the naturally occurring carbon dioxide. As the egg ages and this gas escapes, the white becomes clearer. The quality and flavor of eggs with cloudy whites is excellent.

from http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/eggs/res04-consumer.html

Yeah, the ice cream thing is ridiculous.

No, you use them for sensible things. Now, my millionaire in-laws are the epitome of cheap - they collect them to use them so they don't have to buy their own soap or shampoo. Seriously. They also save flimsy plastic deli containers because they're too cheap to buy just even one piece of long-term Tupperware. :rolleyes:

And, my ex-husband never allowed me to buy a pack of straws (50-cents for 100 at the time). He said we could wash and save them from our occasional fast food drinks. :rolleyes:

And, to top off the cheapness - my father bought a carton of OJ at the store and carried it in with us to iHop during one of our trips to DL when I was a kid, because he didn't want to pay the extra bit for a carafe. He even asked them for empty glasses. :eek:

The reason I collect the soaps and shampoos etc from hotels is for nostalgic reasons.

I shampoo with that orange-scented lather, close my eyes, and imagine I'm back in the Anaheim Hojos !! :blush:

Yeah... There are a lot of hos in Anaheim...

...but how many of them are called "Joe" ? Any idea, Cherny ? :evil:

I bought 2 packages of fridge and freezer baking soda. It says "replace every 30 days". The old packages say replace every 3 months.

I didn't realize the formula for baking soda could change like that:rolleyes:

Exactly.

I think I am past my own expiration date.



At least I smell as such.

Thanks for your insight.

I thought I'd say what happened with the mac & cheese, 'cause it sucks.

So, I figure my family won't eat it, I mean, they hadn't so no way would they turn around and eat them up now. So. We put them in the trunk and headed over to my moms; a lot of people live there so we figured it would go fast.

Headed over. Never made it. Forgot it in the trunk. No longer the cool, dry, place. It was during those horribly hot days. I figured at that point to toss it.

Yeah, I think they change things to make us toss it out and buy more. That sucks. But, I had a thought, how do we know that the old rules still apply? How about the unscrupulous companies that decide to use old ingredients at the factory, things that would make the items expire really around their expiration date?

I have heard that before about a lot of things, canned goods, film, well, different things.

I do feel better about some of the food I have that have expired. I have a brownie mix....yummmmm....so that means I get to make them. :0)

The incredible shrinking shampoo bottles...

Went to Target to pick up some shampoo. The end-cap was a "buy 2 and save" display, so I grabbed what I was looking for then noticed the bottles look really small. Went over to the shampoo aisle and saw the regular size bottles, previously 17oz were now 13oz. Same price. The 17oz bottles were listed as a "bonus size". The "buy 2 and save" were 8 oz each.

Ended up with "family size" with a $2 off coupon, which made them cheaper than the "bonus size".

I heard Proctor and Gamble will be raising prices between 2% and 16%.

And this was the fridge and freezer type. Not even used in food.

Oh, and MW - don't sweat the dates. If it doesn't look/smell gross it should be fine. Things don't go bad on midnight of the date on the box. Hell. my canned and dry goods are next to my washer and dryer. That area gets pretty warm once a week.

True, we keep our canned goods out in the garage by the dryer line, sweaty!

But, I've been trying to keep more inside. We've cleaned up some cupboards to accomodate more inside.

It does suck about the sizes. I need to look again at the toothpaste....last time I had a funny feeling about them but was in a hurry.....