The maximum stability testing period is 3 years in most cases, so that’s where package expiry dates are derived from. What suddenly happens to the entire two year old stock at midnight tonight, that only some of them “might be” spared and last until tomorrow or the next day?Įven in the case of critical pharmaceutical drugs, the expiration date is set for the most conservative possible date, with a guarantee that every single one of them will remain safe until that date, and by simple logic, much (but variably) longer than that.ĭrugs don’t have a best-by date: it’s a straight up expiry date with the criteria being that all values were within acceptable limits during all phases of stability testing. Obviously, if something is best-by dated for July 24 2012, the store stands behind a guarantee that ever single one of them is still good.

The date on which one or two might begin to show reduced quality is designated as the best-by date, and only after that does very slow and gradual and incremental decline begin to set in over a period weeks, months, even years. The stated best-by date is the most conservative of all possible dates, the date by which ALL packages are CERTAIN and guaranteed to remain safe. Simple logic would dictate that it’s more than “might be”, it is “certain to be”. There is reason to believe that regulated food and drugs might be able to last longer than their label date ? How long do you let the milk that you didn’t want to drink sit in your fridge before you chuck it? I never understood why people always seem to want to keep products that they don’t even use forever. You can see impurities and degradation products gradually increase over the testing timeframe…they just stay within acceptable limits during the timeframe. As someone who has done this sort of lab testing (stability testing for new drug development, clinical trials and commercial release), I can 100% absolutely tell you that some drugs do go bad. Even so, that won’t tell you whether someone else’s bottle, stored in different conditions, might be good or not. No one will ever be able to answer the question you are asking without testing that particular bottle and seeing how it compares to it’s release specifications. There is no data to tell us what happens a day, a week, a month, a year, 10 years, a century after the best-before date, because no one is required to test it and no one cares to do it voluntarily because it’s a hell of a lot of work. There is reason to believe that regulated food and drugs might be able to last longer than their label date (they aren’t time bombs), but no one has ever tested it in a systematic way. What were the 10% that weren’t safe and effective? Isn’t that a bigger number to be concerned about?

I really wish people would stop linking to that FDA/military study: it is not nearly as thorough as many people think it is and it doesn’t give straight up answers about any given products. But how about now?ĭo I pitch the bottle and buy a new one, or can I stick these in the guest bathroom for any overnight visits from the in-laws?Ĭapsules do not generally prevent mold growth, and the moment a container of anything that may have been sterilized is open, it is no longer considered to be sterile. Ok?įtr, I believe I used this medication successfully about 3 years ago, so I guess that answers my question for 3 years. Yes, I know you are not a doctor, and even of you are, you would never suggest anything be taken after the date on the bottle, I would never point my finger at anyone who said it was ok to take, and then take it… And look for scapegoats if my stomach erupted. Well, today, I foolishly looked at the date on the bottom of the bottle, and it read 05/2006.īut is it? I know some perishables have expire dates on the product and for good reason, but is this one of them? Can I get sick, deathly ill, or perhaps the fiber will work in reverse of how it’s intended?Īny thoughts on this would be appreciated. I have had a bottle of Metamucil caplets in there forever, and I always replaced them (just in cast).

I went into my medicine chest to do a clean out.

Will meta mucil give you arash