Why are frum products missing expiry dates?!

zaq

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 5:58 pm

You noticed that, did you? Some frum brands do, but many don't. Aside from highly perishable goods like dairy products and fresh meat, fish and poultry, this kind of labeling is voluntary. And given that frum brands sometimes sit on supermarket shelves for a long time, especially in areas with a smaller kosher -observant population, there is something of a disincentive for companies to put expiration dates on their products.

In any event, there is no standard for such labeling. It can mean " we think this item will taste best before but will still be fine" or " we would hope the retailer sells this before" or "be sure to consume this before else it will implode." JK, most of the time food is safe to eat after the date, though taste, color, nutritive value and texture may have declined. There is no standard, either, as to how close to the point of self-destruction the expiration date should be.

More useful would be a date of manufacture so you could know exactly how old that can of tuna or box of wafers is. One firm may give it a year while another may give it two, but you may prefer your wafers no more than a few months since manufacture. With a date of manufacture rather than an expiry date, you could make that informed decision.

amother

Gardenia

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 6:25 pm

amother Sapphire wrote:

Yes- I’m in the uk where everything has to have a date, either use by or best before, but the American imported stuff doesn’t always and it’s super frustrating.

That’s funny. Here in USA the imports from Europe/UK etc don’t have expiration dates.