Talk:Shelf life
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[edit] close but not identical meaning of terms
It seems to me that "shelf life", "expiration date", and "expiry" have become comingled, and they should not have been. They are very different things.
shelf life : The length of time a product may be stored without becoming unsuitable for use or consumption.
expiration date: The date past which a product, such as food or medicine, must be sold or removed from availability. Sometimes these dates are determined by law. (In the United States, in the state of California, eggs may only be sold while less than 30 days old.) Generally, the product is guaranteed by the manufacturer or vendor to be suitable for use on or before this date. Most products are still suitable and usable beyond this date. As manufacturers have become aware of this fact, this date is often labelled the "Sell by" date. If the product was unusable beyond this date, it would mean that the entire product would have to be consumed on the date of purchase, which is generally not the case. Therefore the "shelf-life" is generally longer, and sometimes much longer, than the pre-printed "expiration date". (Some have even speculated that the dates supplied by the manufacturer are far too conservative, and are meant to stimulate replacement purchases.)
expiry: The ending or expiration of a contract or agreement, form but could also be driven by an action or result.
The shelf life of my grandmother's canned piccalilli can be measured in decades. There is no expiration date, but if there were, I'd put it at a year, probably. It would be edible for decades, but would be most delicious if consumed within a year or two. And the contract she entered into with the local market to provide 4 cases each season had an expiry date of 12 months from the date of signing.
The word "expiry" has a more refined and specific meaning than simply being an "expiration date". It has the flavor of a contract behind it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Jerel2u (talk • contribs). April 2006.
[edit] Proposed merge
Best buy is a phrase used in some places to indicate something related to shelf life (see comment above for some close parsing indeed). As such, it is not the higher rubric, shelf life is, and a merger is not indicated. Oppose merger proposal. ww 21:02, 3 July 2006 (UTC)
- I agree that Shelf life should be the article name. Best before and Freshness date are terms which refer to Shelf life. The Best before article should be brought to Shelf life, not the other way round. SilkTork 11:12, 4 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Talk:Best before
Freshness dates are also used on milk and various other perishable foods. This article is a bit too beer-specific at present.
- That's kind of the point, I thought there was enough information on freshness dating that it warranted its own article. There's already info on best before dates. Would you rather it be at Freshness date (beer)? For other foods the terms "best before" or "expiration date" are often used, "freshness date" and the redirects I've made such as "Born-On date" are more beer-centric. Many people see this as an advertising gimmick by the beer companies so I thought we should provide some information on the subject.
- And please sign your comments with four tilde's (~~~~). Dismas 18:19, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
- I do normally sign my comments, not sure how I forgot. I wasn't aware of the articles on best before dates. I think the best thing would be to merge the two articles, but failing that, each should have a link to the other, IMO. DES (talk) 18:27, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
- I have now added such cross-links. DES (talk) 18:31, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
- Like I said, I think there's enough info for its own article. I found a bit more info on the net so I hope to expand it a little this coming weekend maybe... if I get the time. Dismas 18:36, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Date codes section
I have removed this entire section. All beer in Europe has by law to have a best before date. To include in this section every single beer brand would be an endless and frankly pointless task. SilkTork 13:05, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Merge
Freshness date is the same as Best before date. The wording Freshness date or Born on, or some other such makes no difference to the essential nature of what the words are saying. SilkTork 13:07, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Merged
Text from Freshness date merged with Best before and edited. SilkTork 12:48, 3 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Illegibility
Why don't they write those things in a font you can actually read? Not all run together with 16 other kinds of factory-specific code...
[edit] misplaced sentence?
this sentence:
Foods that have a best before date are usually safe to eat after the date has passed, although they are likely to have deteriorated either in flavour, texture, appearance or nutrition.
is under Use by.
shouldn't it be under Best before?
gba 20:53, 21 March 2007 (UTC)
