Expiration Dates

Everything seems to have a "use by" date printed somewhere on it, suggesting the product will self destruct if it remains "active" after the printed date. Does this really happen? I think not. Yesterday five inches of milk remained in a gallon marked with "purchase by 12/23/08." Since no big milk drinkers reside here, milk remains longer then suggested dates. As an experiment, just to see if it was still good to go, it was tasted. There was nothing wrong with it. There were no curdles, off-flavors, or anything suggesting it was out of date. Nevertheless, it was poured down the drain. So what's the real deal with "use by" dates?

According to Consumer Reports, the "use by" date is the last date the product is likely to be at peek flavor. If the product is marked "sell by," on the other hand, that indicates the last day the product may be safely sold to the public. According to CR, You should be able to use milk, say, for up to about seven days after the sell-by date.

Still with me? The real throw out date is the "expiration date" that suggests you throw out the food on or before the expiration date if it is still in your hands. The exception is eggs, which are still safe to eat for three to five WEEKS after the marked egg expiration date. Yikes. Eggs don't really expire for 3 to 5 weeks after they are marked with a date? A lot of eggs have met their maker as a result of the marked date on the end of the carton.

Do we have similar markings somewhere on our bodies, suggesting we will self-destruct by a certain date if we are not "used?" And if we do, where is the mark? Do we really want to know this date? And what does self destruct mean, in regards to "use by" body dates? These are all interesting contemplations as milk and eggs are removed from this stainless steel refrigerator and meet the bottom of the garbage can in the garage.

Photo attribution: somewhat frank