Expiration Dates

[S. Heisley]

Food: Most of us know to go through our food "stash" and check the "Best By" dates but did you know that other things have expiration dates as well?

Sun Screen: Sunscreens are required by the Food and Drug Administration to remain at their original strengths for at least three years. This means that you can use leftover sunscreen from one year to the next but remember to reapply it every couple hours as it does wear off.

Band-Aids Check the bottom of your box of Band-Aids, too. After a couple years, the sticky surface isn't so sticky anymore.

How old was it when you bought it?
If you bought something without checking, how long was it on the shelf? Have you checked for a "Use By" date?

What else besides food, sunscreens, and band-aids has a "Best By" or "Use By" date? Do tell us!

[Tom&Shelly]

I don't believe in "best by" dates. Note they aren't "expiration dates" like medicines (which I also don't necessarily believe in).

I've eaten soups and stews that were 13 years past their "best by" date and they were fine. Of course, look and smell first, then cautiously taste, but you should always do that anyway to make sure there weren't undetected punctures in the can. If food does "go bad" it's more likely to be unpalatable than to make you seriously sick. That's really what the "best by" date is about.

We had lots of "emergency cans" of food that we used during the covid supply shortages. We've since replaced them, but emergencies just don't happen often enough to comply with the "best by" dates all the time.

Tom

[Tom&Shelly]

Oh! I did recently discover Loktite has an expiration date of only about 6 months. On something important, that's one I'll pay attention to from now on!

Tom

[S. Heisley]

I don't believe in "best by" dates. Note they aren't "expiration dates" like medicines (which I also don't necessarily believe in).

I've eaten soups and stews that were 13 years past their "best by" date and they were fine. Of course, look and smell first, then cautiously taste, but you should always do that anyway to make sure there weren't undetected punctures in the can. If food does "go bad" it's more likely to be unpalatable than to make you seriously sick. That's really what the "best by" date is about.

We had lots of "emergency cans" of food that we used during the covid supply shortages. We've since replaced them, but emergencies just don't happen often enough to comply with the "best by" dates all the time.

Tom

For me, some food just tastes nasty if used much more than a year past it's "best by" date. I do confess to using dried egg whites that were 5 years old, with no ill effects and no taste difference. However, I will not keep tomato products much past the "best by" date. I had a can of tomatoes explode on me once so I am especially careful of those. Watch for bulging cans and don't eat the contents from those. Toss those out. Also, acidic products like tomatoes can sometime eat into the metal near the sealing area, causing the tomato product to taste like metal and also to possibly leak.

While camping recently, I managed to pinch my finger so badly that everything above the first knuckle turned blue and I got a big blood blister on its pad. I continued setting up and the blister eventually broke open. I put on a band-aid to keep it and my camp stuff clean. However, the band-aid only lasted a couple hours before it came loose. The same thing happened with the next band-aid...and the next. When I got home and was talking to a friend, she mentioned that the "use by" date could be found on the bottom of the package. Sure enough, it had an expiration date of 2/2022. Were those band-aids old when I got them? I don't think so but.... I bought replacements and the date on the bottom of those is 2/2024 so I'm guessing that they've found a way to shorten the life of the band-aid adhesive

Another expiration date to watch for is the "DOT" (Dept. Of Transportation) on our tires. Those go by the year followed by the number of days since the beginning of the year. Example, 2013014 would mean the tire was made on the 14th day of the year 2013. I'd like it a lot better if it would give us an expiration date rather than having to add 8 to the year to figure out if you need to replace the tires but that's how it's done now. And yes, if your tires were made in 2013, you're running on borrowed time and better replace them!

[S. Heisley]

Oh! I did recently discover Loktite has an expiration date of only about 6 months. On something important, that's one I'll pay attention to from now on!

Tom

Thanks, Tom! That's a good one to know!

[halfdome, Danny]

Good topic.
We recently bought a tube of Gorilla Glue construction adhesive and nothing would come out after several puncture’s of the seal, ended up throwing it away.
Going to check for dates on things like that from now on.
Danny

[Tom&Shelly]

While camping recently, I managed to pinch my finger so badly that everything above the first knuckle turned blue and I got a big blood blister on its pad. I continued setting up and the blister eventually broke open. I put on a band-aid to keep it and my camp stuff clean. However, the band-aid only lasted a couple hours before it came loose. The same thing happened with the next band-aid...and the next. When I got home and was talking to a friend, she mentioned that the "use by" date could be found on the bottom of the package. Sure enough, it had an expiration date of 2/2022. Were those band-aids old when I got them? I don't think so but.... I bought replacements and the date on the bottom of those is 2/2024 so I'm guessing that they've found a way to shorten the life of the band-aid adhesive

Hot cars and Jeeps that go off-road are murder on things in first aid kits. A colleague once asked me if I had any pain reliever. I offered her a bottle of "gel-caps", and she poured out a sticky liquid. Guess the capsule part dissolved into the gel. Previously, I had a bottle of pills that turned to dust. After that, I only keep the 2 pill travel packets in there, even though they cost more. I wouldn't expect band-aids to last the full lifetime in a hot vehicle. If anyone has a solution for that problem, it would be good to know!


By coincidence we decided to set up a 2nd first aid kit in our galley this morning (first is in our truck--with the aforementioned heat issue), so I bought some items. The Walgreens blister bandages expire in 2026, but I couldn't find dates on the Walgreens butterfly bandages, Walgreens elastic bandage (which I expect has a longer life), or even the Band-Aid brand large fabric bandages.

When building the tear, we also had PL Premium and polyurethane caulk go bad--they have a life of about a year even unopened. I ordered a tube from Amazon and had to ask for money back because the seller sold an expired tube. It's complicated because the date of manufacture is coded in the lot number. Someone on the forum showed us the code. (I do see lot numbers on the boxes of band-aids so I guess that's the same deal.)

Tom

[rjgimp]

Alkaline batteries.

[dmb90260]

Look at canned foods. If the can top/bottom looks like it is swollen, toss it. The same goes for any thing in bottles, sauces and such. Bottled water does not go bad but it can taste funky. I have earthquake suppies and swap out the water over time. It is still great for the plants. l have dry camp food that I need to check occasionally but most lasts a very long time.

[S. Heisley]

Not really an expiration date but close...a stocking shelf practice. When stocking a shelf with whatever, if the stocker is doing his business correctly, the newer things will go in the back with the older in the front. So, you might want to reach to the back if you're filling your pantry or medicine box for the future. Check the dates of the ones in front as well as in the back, because sometimes store clerks don't think or are in a hurry, etc. and don't do things the way they should be done.

[S. Heisley]

Look at canned foods. If the can top/bottom looks like it is swollen, toss it. The same goes for any thing in bottles, sauces and such. Bottled water does not go bad but it can taste funky. I have earthquake suppies and swap out the water over time. It is still great for the plants. l have dry camp food that I need to check occasionally but most lasts a very long time.

Good one! If bottled water tastes funky, spit that sip out too! It can mean that the plastic is breaking down and allowing carcinogens into the water.

Another one to be aware of is, if you store city tap water, don't filter it until you're ready to use it. This is because City water has chlorine in it that protects the water. If you filter it before you store it, you may remove that protection. If you store well water, add a capful of bleach per gallon and then filter the water when you're ready to use it.

[S. Heisley]

Alkaline batteries.

Yup! Had that happen to me just the other day when I replaced the clock battery without checking the expiration date.

[S. Heisley]

Good topic.
We recently bought a tube of Gorilla Glue construction adhesive and nothing would come out after several puncture’s of the seal, ended up throwing it away.
Going to check for dates on things like that from now on.
Danny

Thanks, Danny! I had that happen to me last month with a tube of caulking.

[S. Heisley]

Consider Bear Spray. I'm bad. I know mine is expired and could start leaking, which would be a mess. I wonder if it'll even spray if I need it. That stuff is expensive! At many national parks, you can rent it and save yourself $ as well as the headache of wondering if it's good.

[Tom&Shelly]

Consider Bear Spray. I'm bad. I know mine is expired and could start leaking, which would be a mess. I wonder if it'll even spray if I need it. That stuff is expensive! At many national parks, you can rent it and save yourself $ as well as the headache of wondering if it's good.

Perhaps slightly off-topic, but that reminds me: Political ads have a definite expiration date. Except, sometimes they don't

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4M-SkpvomM

Ask any Ukrainian!

Tom