Many beauty products don’t come with expiration dates, but some do. Keep in mind that most products have a 30-month shelf life. After they have been opened, it’s recommended to use them within 1 year, though if they don’t smell bad or change consistency, you can use your best judgment as to whether or not you want to keep using them. These types of dates that come with a label are “open dates”, meaning that the food or manufacturing company chose that date and it’s meant for the consumer or for the stockers at the store. There are also “closed codes,” but those are meant for manufacturers, rather than consumers. [2] X Research source
If a food item smells bad or if you can see mold or discoloration, throw it out. If it smells good, looks good, and has been properly stored, it should still be safe to eat. If a beauty product smells strange or has changed in consistency, it most likely isn’t good anymore. For example, a lotion might become lumpy or a liquid foundation might become tacky. It’s hard to tell if medicine is no longer potent. Most over-the-counter medications are effective for as long as 10 years past the expiration date. The best recommendation is to ask yourself if you need the medication to work at the full 100%. If so, you may want to replace it if it’s past the expiration date.
If you’re shopping and notice that a food product is past its sell-by date, you can still buy it. Just keep in mind that it’ll need to be used within a week or so.
The use-by date has more to do with the item’s quality rather than its safety. Remember, these dates are chosen by the manufacturers, not by the FDA or USDA. Some food products also have a “freeze by” date listed, so that consumers can know when to move their goods from the fridge to the freezer so that they don’t have to throw anything out. Pay attention to odd smells or changed consistencies in food items and beauty products. These indicate that the item may not be good to use or consume anymore. You can safely assume that medicine is still effective if it was bought in the last few years, but go ahead and replace the bottle if you’re concerned about it not working at its full potency, like for pain relievers or allergy pills.
For example, if a code reads “D1519,” that means April 15, 2019. Many products might have a closed code as well as an open-date code. If the number you’re reading isn’t accompanied by any words, like “use by” or “best by,” it’s a closed code and doesn’t refer to the food’s quality.
For example, “121518” would be read as December 15, 2018. Certain brands use a year-month-day sequence, where December 15, 2018, would be written as “181215”.
For example, if a can of olives shows a 3-digit code of 213, that means it was manufactured on August 1.
