Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with expirationdate

Why does chocolate milk last longer in the fridge?

katocolon — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:14:39 -0800

Why does chocolate milk last longer than regular milk? I have a gallon of regular milk in the fridge, and some chocolate milk...the regular (whole for the baby, skim for us...) milk usually has an expiration date of roughly a week or so after we purchase it, but the chocolate milk has a date considerably further out...like a month...anyone have an explanation for this?

marmite: maybe it just keeps getting better?

MaddyRex — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:12:31 -0800

When does Marmite really expire? I love Marmite, but I don't want to shell out $7 for another jar when I just found in my pantry a perfectly good, unopened & sealed jar that expired in, oh, say 2005.

So the tag says best by 2005. Buuuut, it's Marmite! What could possibly go wrong? I know "best by" doesn't mean "inedible after." Does anyone have experience eating old Marmite?

Expiration Dates and Medication Instructions

Mael Oui — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:02:23 -0800

I have two questions related to medications that I take (or should be taking). Question about Acidophilus expiration dates and how to take Synthroid inside. First off, these questions are going to seem really silly, but an honest answer hopefully will contribute to the regularity with which I take my medications.

1) I have a bottle of Acidophilus (Lactobacillus Acidophilus, 10 mg) in the refrigerator. The expiration date says 07/08. Can I still take it, or should it be thrown away? If it were Tylenol, Benedryl, etc., I would continue to take it, but considering the nature of Acidophilus, I'm not sure if it's still effective (or even harmful) at this stage.

2) I have been taking Synthroid for over ten years (current dose .2 mg). When I began taking it, my endocrinologist's only directions were to take it first thing in the morning and wait an hour before eating anything. He said that, should I miss taking it first thing in the morning and end up eating something first, I must wait two hours until I can take the medication and wait another hour before consuming anything more. My Synthroid question is (and this is something I've tried to ask him a few times, but he just gives me a look, and I never end up getting an answer): So, I understand that having a buffer of time when I've not eaten solid food is important for the efficacy of this medication. But, does this include non-water beverages? Does drinking an iced tea or a soda count as 'food'? Can I drink a non-water beverage right before or after taking Synthroid? Or can I even take Synthroid with another liquid besides water? I don't drink milk at all, so I wouldn't be taking it with anything dairy. At this point, if I drink a soda first, for instance, I have been waiting two hours to take my medication. I'm wondering if that's unnecessary. Also (and yes, these are serious questions), would chewing gum or using toothpaste/mouthwash effect when I can take the Synthroid? Once again, do I have to wait until an hour passes to do either? Reading that sentence back, I know it doesn't sound logical, but I just mean that I swallow some amount of all of those substances (with the gum, I really just mean the minty saliva).

I realize these are probably silly questions, but, in the past, I've opted not to take the medication at all over these concerns.. which is obviously not the best thing. Anyway, thank you for your patience and your advice!

Here is a fine '68 Maui Wowie

zerobyproxy — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 11:51:24 -0800

Do drugs like cocaine have a shelf life? If drugs were stored in ideal circumstances, what would their shelf life be? So, let's say that they are in air tight packaging, kept in low humidity vaults, with very low levels of light.

Would they need "preservatives" to make them last longer?

Part 2 of the question: Is there any law that says that seized drugs must be destroyed?

My crazy thought is this: what if the government kept all of the drugs that it seized? Could they flood the market with product and drive people out of business?

Can multi-vitamins go bad/expire?

redsnare — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 11:09:32 -0800

Can multi-vitamins go bad/expire? I've kept this massive jar of Centrum (stupid Sam's club) for about 4 or 5 years now and will occasionally get in a healthy mindset and take a pill a day for about a month. I'm not really concerned about the expense of replacing the vitamins, if need be, but I'd hate to trash the lot if they're still decent. This search turned up some links about vitamins losing potency but didn't give any post-expiration timeline of when taking them becomes redundant. I've kept the jar in a kitchen cabinet except for the three times I've moved since the purchase, so I don't think exposure to heat, light, or moisture is a factor. The flip side of that; I can't find any expiration date on the jar. Should I just dump them and move on? Double my intake? Go back into semi-healthy mode and pretend I get my nutrional RDA from my diet alone?