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Expiration Dates For Everything
Posted by Pile
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| Did your beer supposedly only lasts four months? Yet mayonnaise can last indefinitely if it isn't opened? Here's a guide to the "shelf life" of common food and household items that normally don't have expiration dates. |
# Beer
Unopened: 4 months.
# Brown sugar
Indefinite shelf life, stored in a moistureproof container in a cool, dry place.
# Chocolate (Hershey bar)
1 year from production date
# Coffee, canned ground
Unopened: 2 years
Opened: 1 month refrigerated
# Coffee, gourmet
Beans: 3 weeks in paper bag, longer in vacuum-seal bag (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
Ground: 1 week in sealed container
# Coffee, instant
Unopened: Up to 2 years
Opened: Up to 1 month
# Diet soda (and soft drinks in plastic bottles)
Unopened: 3 months from "best by" date.
Opened: Doesn't spoil, but taste is affected.
# Dried pasta
12 months
# Frozen dinners
Unopened: 12 to 18 months
# Frozen vegetables
Unopened: 18 to 24 months
Opened: 1 month
# Honey
Indefinite shelf life
# Juice, bottled (apple or cranberry)
Unopened: 8 months from production date
Opened: 7 to 10 days
# Ketchup
Unopened: 1 year (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
Opened or used: 4 to 6 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
# Maple syrup, real or imitation
1 year
# Maraschino cherries
Unopened: 3 to 4 years
Opened: 2 weeks at room temperature; 6 months refrigerated
# Marshmallows
Unopened: 40 weeks
Opened: 3 months
# Mayonnaise
Unopened: Indefinitely
Opened: 2 to 3 months from “purchase by” date (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
# Mustard
2 years (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
# Olives, jarred (green with pimento)
Unopened: 3 years
Opened: 3 months
# Olive oil
2 years from manufacture date (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
# Peanuts
Unopened: 1 to 2 years unless frozen or refrigerated
Opened: 1 to 2 weeks in airtight container
# Peanut butter, natural
9 months
# Peanut butter, processed (Jif)
Unopened: 2 years
Opened: 6 months; refrigerate after 3 months
# Pickles
Unopened: 18 months
Opened: No conclusive data. Discard if slippery or excessively soft.
# Protein bars (PowerBars)
Unopened: 10 to 12 months. Check "best by" date on the package.
# Rice, white
2 years from date on box or date of purchase
# Salad dressing, bottled
Unopened: 12 months after "best by" date
Opened: 9 months refrigerated
# Soda, regular
Unopened: In cans or glass bottles, 9 months from "best by" date
Opened: Doesn't spoil, but taste is affected
# Steak sauce
33 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
# Tabasco
5 years, stored in a cool, dry place
# Tea bags (Lipton)
Use within 2 years of opening the package
# Tuna, canned
Unopened: 1 year from purchase date
Opened: 3 to 4 days, not stored in can
# Soy sauce, bottled
Unopened: 2 years
Opened: 3 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
# Vinegar
42 months
# Wine (red, white)
Unopened: 3 years from vintage date; 20 to 100 years for fine wines
Opened: 1 week refrigerated and corked
# Worcestershire sauce
Unopened: 5 to 10 years (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
Opened: 2 years
For more information, see:
How to Protect Your Produce
How to Save an Open Bottle of Wine
Household Products
# Air freshener, aerosol
2 years
# Antifreeze, premixed
1 to 5 years
# Antifreeze, concentrate
Indefinite
# Batteries, alkaline
7 years
# Batteries, lithium
10 years
# Bleach
3 to 6 months
# Dish detergent, liquid or powdered
1 year
# Fire extinguisher, rechargeable
Service or replace every 6 years
# Fire extinguisher, nonrechargeable
12 years
# Laundry detergent, liquid or powdered
Unopened: 9 months to 1 year
Opened: 6 months
# Metal polish (silver, copper, brass)
At least 3 years
# Miracle Gro, liquid
Opened: 3 to 8 years
# Miracle Gro, liquid, water-soluble
Indefinite
# Motor oil
Unopened: 2 to 5 years
Opened: 3 months
# Mr. Clean
2 years
# Paint
Unopened: Up to 10 years
Opened: 2 to 5 years
# Spray paint
2 to 3 years
# Windex
2 years
# Wood polish (Pledge)
2 years
Beauty Products
All dates are from the manufacture date, which is either displayed on the packaging or can be obtained by calling the manufacturer's customer-service number.
# Bar soap
18 months to 3 years
# Bath gel, body wash
3 years
# Bath oil
1 year
# Body bleaches and depilatories
Unopened: 2 years
Used: 6 months
# Body lotion
3 years
# Conditioner
2 to 3 years
# Deodorant
Unopened: 2 years
Used: 1 to 2 years
For antiperspirants, see expiration date
# Eye cream
Unopened: 3 years
Used: 1 year
# Face lotion
With SPF, see expiration date. All others, at least 3 years
# Foundation, oil-based
2 years
# Foundation, water-based
3 years
# Hair gel
2 to 3 years
# Hair spray
2 to 3 years
# Lip balm
Unopened: 5 years
Used: 1 to 5 years
# Lipstick
2 years
# Mascara
Unopened: 2 years
Used: 3 to 4 months
# Mouthwash
Three years from manufacture date
# Nail polish
1 year
# Nail-polish remover
Lasts indefinitely
# Perfume
1 to 2 years
# Rubbing alcohol
At least 3 years
# Shampoo
2 to 3 years
# Shaving cream
2 years or more
# Tooth-whitening strips
13 months
# Wash'n Dri moist wipes
Unopened: 2 years
Opened: Good until dried out |
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