Expiration Date Definition - Investopedia

An expiration date is a date after which a consumable product such as food or medicine should not be used because it may be spoiled, damaged, or ineffective ... Business BusinessEssentials BusinessEssentials GuidetoMergersandAcquisitions WhatIsanExpirationDate? Anexpirationdateisadateafterwhichaconsumableproductsuchasfoodormedicineshouldnotbeusedbecauseitmaybespoiled,damaged,orineffective.Thetermexpirationdatealsoreferstothedatethatadrugpatentexpires. UnderstandingExpirationDates Expirationdatesareespeciallyimportantformedicationsbecausetheyoffertheonlyindicationaboutwhethertheproductisstillsafetouse.Fooditems,ontheotherhand,oftenlookorsmellbadwhentheyhavepassedtheir"best-buy"dates.Becauseusingexpiredmedicalproductsmaypotentiallyharmourhealth,inthelate1970stheUnitedStatesFoodandDrugAdministration(FDA) mandatedthatallprescriptionandover-the-counter(OTC)medicalproductscontainanexpirationdate.Expirationdatesformedicinesareoftenmarked“EXP”andareprintedonthelabelorstampedontothemedicinebottleorbox. Certainmedicationscanbefataltochildrenorpetsiftheyingesteventhesmallestamount;theseshouldbeflusheddownthesinkortoiletoncetheypasstheirexpirationdate. WhyUsingExpiredMedicinesCanBeRisky Itisespeciallyimportanttoadheretotheexpirationdatesofpharmaceuticals.Becausetheirchemicalcompositioncanchangeovertime,expiredmedicinesriskbecominglesspotent,lesseffective,andevenharmful.Forexample,anexpiredmedicationmightnotbeabletocontroltheunderlyingconditionaswellasamedicationthathasnotreacheditsexpirationdate,sousingitcouldhaveseriousconsequences. Insomecases,theFDAmayextendtheexpirationdateofadrugifthereisashortageofit.TheextendedexpirationdateisbasedonstabilitydataforthemedicationthathasbeenreviewedbytheFDA. DiscardingExpiredMedications Insteadofdumpingtheminthetrash,youshoulddiscardexpiredmedicationsproperly.Iftherearenodisposalinstructionsonthedrug'spackaging,youshouldcheckfordrugtake-backprogramsinyourstateormunicipality. Intheabsenceofspecificinstructionsortake-backprograms,U.S.federalguidelinesrecommenddisposingofexpiredorunwantedmedicinesbyputtingtheminabagorcontainerandmixingthemwithcoffeegroundsorkittylitter.Somemedicationsshouldbeflushed. ExpirationDatesforFood Withfood,however,expirationdatesareasomewhatdifferentstory.Foodmanufacturersprovidedatingtohelpconsumersandretailersdecidewhenfoodisatitsbestquality.Exceptforinfantformula,datesarenotanindicatorofaproduct’ssafetyandtheyarenotrequiredbyfederallaw.Afoodproductlabelmaycontaintwotypesofdates: Opendatingisacalendardateappliedtoafoodproductbythemanufacturerorretailer. Thecalendardatetellsconsumerstheestimatedtimeforwhichtheproductwillbeofthebestquality,andithelpsstorestodecidehowlongtodisplaytheproductforsale.Closeddatingisacodethatconsistsoflettersand/ornumbers;itisappliedbymanufacturerstoidentifythedateandtimethattheyproducedtheitem. KeyTakeaways Usingexpiredmedicalproductsmaypotentiallyharmourhealth.Inthelate-1970s,theFDAmandatedthatallprescriptionandOTCmedicalproductscontainanexpirationdateontheirlabels. Withfood—exceptforinfantformula—expirationdatesarenotrequiredbylaw,nordotheyindicateaproduct’ssafety;theyrefertotheproduct'sfreshnessandbestquality. TheFSIS:WatchdogforOurMeat,Poultry,andEggs The FoodSafetyandInspectionService (FSIS),anagencyoftheUnitedStatesDepartmentofAgriculture(USDA),isthepublichealthregulatoryagencyresponsibleforensuringthatAmerica'scommercialsupplyofmeat,poultry,andeggsis safe,wholesome,andcorrectlylabeledandpackaged.TheFSIS'smissionstatementreads:"[Protecting]thepublic’shealthbyensuringthesafetyofmeat,poultry,andeggproducts."  Fortheseproducts,manufacturersmayassignexpirationdatesvoluntarilyiftheyarelabeledinamannerthatistruthfulandnotmisleading,andwhichcomplieswithFSISregulations.Tocomply,acalendardatemustexpressboththemonthanddayofthemonth.Shelf-stableandfrozenproductsalsomustdisplaytheyear.Further,immediatelyadjacenttothedatemustbeaphraseexplainingthemeaningofthatdate—suchas,"BestifUsedBy." Date-LabelingPhrasesforFoodProducts TherearenouniformoruniversallyaccepteddescriptionsusedonfoodlabelsforopendatingintheUnitedStates. Asaresult,producersuseavarietyofphrasesontheirlabelstodescribequalitydates:  Bestifusedby/before:Thisdateindicateswhenaproductwillbeofbestflavororquality;itdoesnotindicatesafetyorwhentopurchase.Sell-by:Asell-bydateindicatestothestorehowlongtodisplaytheproductforsaleforinventorymanagement;itisnotasafetydate. Use-by: Thisisthelastdaterecommendedfortheusingtheproductwhileatitspeakquality;itisnotasafetydateexceptwhenusedoninfantformula.Freeze-by:Thisdateindicateswhenaproductshouldbefrozentomaintainitsbestquality;itdoesnotindicatesafetyorwhentopurchase. WaysThatFoodManufacturersDecideQualityDates Whendeterminingthedatebywhichaproductwillbeofthebestquality,producersandretailersconsiderfactorslikethelengthoftimeandthetemperatureatwhichafoodisstoredwhileit'sindistribution,andbeforebeingofferedforsale.Otherfactors,suchastheparticularcharacteristicsofthefood,anditstypeofpackagingwillaffecthowlongaproductwillbeofoptimumquality. Althoughit'struethatthequalityofperishableproductsmaydeteriorateafterthelabeleddatepasses,suchproductsshouldstillbesafeifthey'rehandledproperly.Consumersmustevaluatethequalityofaproduct—bylooking,smelling,tasting,andtouching—priortoconsumingittoseeiftheitemshowssignsofspoilage. ExpirationDatesforPrescriptionDrugPatents TheU.S.PatentandTrademarkOfficeawardsmedicalpatentstopharmacompanieswhenanewbrand-namedrugisreleasedtothemarket.Thepatentprotectsthedrugmakerfromhavingitsdrugcopiedbycompetitorsforacertaintime,typically20years.Thepatentexclusivityfororphandrugslastsforsevenyears,andapatentforanewchemicallastsforfiveyears. TheOrangeBook—alistofdrugsthattheFDAhasapprovedasbothsafeandeffective—citesthepatentsfornewdrugs,alongwiththeirexpirationdates.UndertheHatch-WaxmanAct,foragenericdrugmanufacturertowinapprovalforadrug,themanufacturermustcertifythatitwillnotlaunchitsgenericproductuntilaftertheoriginaldrug'spatenthasexpired;unlessthepatentisfoundtobeinvalidorunenforceable,orifthegenericproductwillnotinfringeuponthelistedpatent. ArticleSources Investopediarequireswriterstouseprimarysourcestosupporttheirwork.Theseincludewhitepapers,governmentdata,originalreporting,andinterviewswithindustryexperts.Wealsoreferenceoriginalresearchfromotherreputablepublisherswhereappropriate.Youcanlearnmoreaboutthestandardswefollowinproducingaccurate,unbiasedcontentinour editorialpolicy. U.S.Food&DrugAdministration."CPGSec.480.300LackofExpirationDateofStabilityData."AccessedApril19,2021. U.S.Food&DrugAdministration."ExpirationDates-QuestionsandAnswers."AccessedApril19,2021. U.S.Food&DrugAdministration."WhereandHowtoDisposeofUnusedMedicines."AccessedApril19,2021. U.S.DepartmentofAgriculture."FoodProductDating."AccessedApril19,2021. U.S.DepartmentofAgriculture."AboutFSIS."AccessedApril19,2021. U.S.Food&DrugAdministration."FrequentlyAskedQuestionsonPatentsandExclusivity."AccessedApril19,2021. U.S.Food&DrugAdministration."OrangeBook."AccessedApril19,2021. U.S.Food&DrugAdministration."ParagraphIVDrugProductApplications:GenericDrugPatentChallengeNotifications."AccessedApril19,2021 CompareAccounts AdvertiserDisclosure × TheoffersthatappearinthistablearefrompartnershipsfromwhichInvestopediareceivescompensation.Thiscompensationmayimpacthowandwherelistingsappear.Investopediadoesnotincludealloffersavailableinthemarketplace. Provider Name Description RelatedTerms OrangeBook TheOrangeBookisalistofdrugsthattheU.S.FoodandDrugAdministration(FDA)hasapprovedasbothsafeandeffective. more ReadingIntoAbbreviatedNewDrugApplications AnAbbreviatedNewDrugApplication(ANDA)isawrittenrequesttotheU.S.FoodandDrugAdministrationtomanufactureandmarketagenericdrugintheUnitedStates. more GenericBrand Agenericbrandisatypeofconsumerproductthatlacksawidelyrecognizednameorlogobecauseittypicallyisn'tadvertised. more Fast-MovingConsumerGoods(FMCG) Fast-movingconsumergoods(FMCG)arecheaperproductsthatsellquicklysuchasmilk,gum,fruitandvegetables,soda,beer,andcommondrugslikeaspirin. more FoodandDrugAdministration(FDA) TheFoodandDrugAdministrationisagovernmentagencythatregulatescertainfood,drugs,cosmetics,andmedicalproducts. more U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices(HHS) TheDepartmentofHealthandHumanServices(HHS)isagovernmentdepartmentthatprovideshealthandhumanservicesandpromotesresearchinsocialservices,medicineandpublichealth. more PartnerLinks RelatedArticles CompanyProfiles The5LargestFoodRecallsinHistory BusinessEssentials HowDoRecallsAffectACompany? 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