Shelf life

This pack of diced pork says 'Display until' 7 May and 'Use by' 8 May.

Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale.[1] In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a supermarket shelf (unfit for sale, but not yet unfit for use). It applies to cosmetics, foods and beverages, medical devices, medicines, explosives, pharmaceutical drugs,[2] chemicals, tyres, batteries, and many other perishable items. In some regions, an advisory best before, mandatory use by or freshness date is required on packaged perishable foods. The concept of expiration date is related but legally distinct in some jurisdictions.[3]

  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed.
  2. ^ Forcinio, Hallie (2 October 2018). "Protecting Solid-Dose Shelf Life". Pharmaceutical Technology. Vol. 42, no. 10. UBM. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  3. ^ Affairs, Government of Canada,Canadian Food Inspection Agency,Public (21 March 2012). "Date Labelling on Pre-packaged Foods". www.inspection.gc.ca. Retrieved 1 September 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)