This food with no expiration date can be consumed at any time – you should never throw it away again.
Everyone who goes shopping at the supermarket tries to prefer long-life foods, so as not to end up with spoiled food in the fridge. Just take a look at the product you intend to buy to see if it is destined to keep for a long time or if it should be consumed rather quickly. In fact, the labeling requires that the article has the expiration date or at least the date of minimum durability. An obligation that does not concern vegetables and fruits, given that for these foods the deterioration is all too visible to the buyer.
Expiry date and date of minimum durability: what changes?
Why is there a difference between the expiration date and the date of minimum durability? Aren’t they the same thing? Not really, since they are two very different things.
On those products that are destined to remain for a long time on the supermarket counters we will find the TMC, an acronym that stands for minimum shelf life. On food, therefore, we will notice this term which indicates the period in which the product could begin to deteriorate. What foods are they? Legume cans, for example, but also vacuum-packed food.
The date of minimum durability therefore indicates the period in which the product will begin to degrade. Given that this is an indication without precise dates, it goes without saying that exceeding the expiry date by a few days should not pose any health risk.
However, it is always better to use the conditional, since these foods also include cereals and dried legumes that have little water in them. In short, with these foods it is good to respect the date of minimum durability.
The expiration date is much more precise and generally quite close. The advice given by all experts is not to consume food after the expiration date, as bacteria could develop inside that pose potential health risks.
Of course, the expiry date and the date of minimum durability refer to the intact product. Once the food has been opened, it should be consumed within a few days, otherwise the risk is that it will go bad.
This famous food has no expiration date: you can consume it whenever you want
The question that consumers often ask themselves is whether there is any food that can be consumed even after many years. As we mentioned earlier, some foods – such as dried legumes – have a very long shelf life.
However, a food seems to be able to be consumed forever. We are talking about honey, a product that is not subject to spoilage. On the honey jar we could find the date of minimum durability, but only as an indication.
Obviously, if we open the honey jar we must still be careful to close it carefully. The risk is that a jar that is not closed well leads the honey to take on an unpleasant smell, making it no longer edible.
