It’s a quiet Sunday afternoon, and you are bored. You walk into the kitchen and open the refrigerator door “looking” for something to quiet the boredom. When was the last time you looked at the expiration date of your condiments? I know it sounds like an unusual task unless you are doing a major overhaul of your refrigerator, but many foods actually have dates of expiration.
While most foods won’t hurt you if you eat them past the expired date, the flavor or the visual aesthetics may be affected. Use your best judgment, but understand consuming them is entirely at your own risk.
Below are just a few of the shelf lives of popular gourmet foods.
- Chocolate 6 months
- Jelly Beans 9 months
- Tortilla Chips 4 months
- Popcorn 6-9 months
- Cookies 3-9 months
And here is a helpful guide of 77 foods, beauty products and household goods to check for “best by”. And just as a precaution, question food stuffs sold at specialty department stores. Often they are odd lots or have been sitting on the shelf for a while.
Be safe and be healthy.
