Monday, February 09, 2009
How old is too old?
The other day I watched my husband take tylenol that was passed it's expiry date. When I asked him about it he just shrugged it off. I told someone else about this they said they ignore the expiry dates on Tylenol as well. Apparently there is more than one person out there who doesn't care about expiry dates. This leads me to the question, how old is too old? Would you take tylenol that was a month old? 6 months old? a year? 10 years? If you aren't following the expiry day then where do you draw the line? And does this disregard of the expiry dates apply to all products? There are expiry dates on dairy, cereals, breads, meats, juice, medication, contact solutions, contacts, car seats, poison, and condoms. So I must ask again, how old is too old and do expiry dates apply to any of these products?
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3 comments:
Did the Tylenol work?
Do you throw out bread when the date on the tag is reached?
I saw on the news there is a discount franchise in the USA that sells just expired products. They were interviewing the shoppers and they thought it was great to get the stuff at so cheap prices. They claimed there was nothing wrong with anything they bought and they've been shopping there for a year.
My Mom says, "When in doubt, throw it out".
I think in some cases the expiry date is the manufacturer (or the government) protecting their butts. For example, a health food store in Stony was selling cheese from a local producer near Bluffton. This was fresh, excellent cheese. But it didn't have an expirty date. It's CHEESE! It's been vacuum packed. It's good for years!!! But, because it lacked the expiry date, some official came into the store and told the manager that she couldn't carry it. ??? Sure, some things - like milk and cottage cheese - go bad. Smell them. You'll know they're bad. Tylenol... not sure, but I expect it's good for a while. Car seats - well, I wonder if it's really a safety issue, butt-protecting, or money making. So I guess I'd say it depends on the product - and common sense.
http://www.askyourpharmacist.ca/medication_expiry_dates.html
I've always understood that medications just get less effective as they get older. I'd take old tylenol pills. The suspension liquid for kids might be more important to keep fresh.
Dairy, meat, bread all change over time to indicate their expiry to you. People don't need a calendar to tell that this milk is bad. My wife just needs a husband to test it for her.
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