Foods
NOTE: Check refrigeration requirements for all foods after opening.
soda, regular. Unopened: In cans or glass bottles, 9 months from “best by” date. Opened: Doesn’t spoil, but taste is affected.
diet soda (and soft drinks in plastic bottles). Unopened: 3 months from “best by” date. Opened: Doesn’t spoil, but taste is affect.
coffee, canned ground. Unopened: 2 years. Opened: 1 month refrigerated.
juice, bottled (apple or cranberry). Unopened: 8 months from production date. Opened: 7 to 10 days.
ketchup. Unopened: 1 year. Opened: 4 to 6 months. (After these times, color or flavor may be affected, but the product is still generally safe to consume.)
maple syrup, real or imitation. Unopened or opened: 1 year. soy sauce, bottled. Unopened: 2 years. Opened: 3 months.
peanut butter, processed. Unopened: 2 years. Opened: 6 months; refrigerate after 3 months.
tuna, canned. Unopened: 1 year from purchase date. Opened: 3 to 4 days, not stored in can.
mayonnaise. Unopened: Indefinitely. Opened: 2 to 3 months from “purchased by” date. (After this time, color or flavoring may be affected, but the product is still generally safe to consume.)
salad dressing, bottled. Unopened: 12 months after “best buy” date. Opened: 9 months refrigerated.
olive oil. Unopened/Opened: 2 years from manufacture date. (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but the product is still generally safe to consume.)
vinegar. Unopened/Opened: 42 months.
Make-up
nail polish. Unopened/Opened: 1 year from manufacture date.
nail polish remover. Unopened/Opened: Lasts indefinitely.
perfume. Unopened/Opened: 1 to 2 years.
lipstick. Unopened/Opened: 2 years.
mascara. Unopened: 2 years. Opened: 3 to 4 months.
foundation, oil-based. Unopened/Opened: 2 years from date of manufacture.
foundation, water-based. Unopened/Opened: 3 years from date of manufacture.
Cleaning supplies
windex. Unopened/Opened: 2 years.
metal polish. Unopened/Opened: at least 3 years.
wood polish (Pledge). Unopened/Opened: 2 years.
powdered laundry detergent. Unopened: 9 months to a 1 year. Opened: At least 6 months.
liquid laundry detergent. Unopened: 9 months to 1 year. Opened: 6 months.
bleach. Unopened/Opened: 3 to 6 months.
This website has more products listed in a table for easy viewing:Product Expiration
Expiration date terminology
These terms all apply to unopened products.
• Best if used by and use-by date: With emphasis on the best qualifier in this term, it means the product should retain maximum freshness, flavor and texture if used by this date. It is not a purchase-by or safety date. Beyond this date, the product begins to deteriorate, although it may still be edible.
• expiration date: If you haven't used the product by this date, toss it out. Other dating terms are used as a basic guideline, but this one means what it says.
• Sell-by or pull-by date: This date is used by manufacturers to tell grocers when to remove their product from the shelves, but there is generally still some leeway for home usage. For example, milk often has a sell-by date, but the milk will usually still be good for at least a week beyond that date if properly refrigerated.
• Guaranteed fresh: This date is often used for perishable baked goods. Beyond this date, freshness is no longer guaranteed although it may still be edible.
• Pack date: This is the date the item was packed, most-used on canned and boxed goods. It is usually in the form of an encrypted code not easy to decipher. It may be coded by month (M), day (D), and year (Y), such as YYMMDD or MMDDYY. Or it may be coded using Julian (JJJ) numbers, where January 1 would be 001 and December 31 would be 365. In even more convoluted coding, letters A through M (omitting the letter I) are often assigned to the months, with A being January and M being December, plus a numeric day, either preceded or followed by the numeric year.
Use this website to find label codes on many popular brands:
label codes (link posted by amszyhb )
Drug Expiration Dates
From a post by Gransonec:
Here's the text of an article, from the Harvard School of Medicine's Family Health Guide, citing the same study:
Drug expiration Dates — Do They Mean Anything?
With a splitting headache you reach into your medicine cabinet for some aspirin only to find the stamped expiration date on the bottle has passed — two years ago. So, do you take it or don't you? If you decide to take the aspirin will it be a fatal mistake or will you simply continue to suffer from the headache?
This is a dilemma many people face in some way or another. A column published in Pyschopharmacology Today offers some advice.
It turns out that the expiration date on a drug does stand for something, but probably not what you think it does. Since a law was passed in 1979, drug manufacturers are required to stamp an expiration date on their products. This is the date at which the manufacturer can still guarantee the full potency and safety of the drug.
Most of what is known about drug expiration dates comes from a study conducted by the Food and Drug Administration at the request of the military. With a large and expensive stockpile of drugs, the military faced tossing out and replacing its drugs every few years. What they found from the study is 90% of more than 100 drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, were perfectly good to use even 15 years after the expiration date.
So the expiration date doesn't really indicate a point at which the medication is no longer effective or has become unsafe to use. Medical authorities state expired drugs are safe to take, even those that expired years ago. A rare exception to this may be tetracycline, but the report on this is controversial among researchers. It's true the effectiveness of a drug may decrease over time, but much of the original potency still remains even a decade after the expiration date. Excluding nitroglycerin, insulin, and liquid antibiotics, most medications are as long-lasting as the ones tested by the military. Placing a medication in a cool place, such as a refrigerator, will help a drug remain potent for many years.
Is the expiration date a marketing ploy by drug manufacturers, to keep you restocking your medicine cabinet and their pockets regularly? You can look at it that way. Or you can also look at it this way: The expiration dates are very conservative to ensure you get everything you paid for. And, really, if a drug manufacturer had to do expiration-date testing for longer periods it would slow their ability to bring you new and improved formulations.
The next time you face the drug expiration date dilemma, consider what you've learned here. If the expiration date passed a few years ago and it's important that your drug is absolutely 100% effective, you might want to consider buying a new bottle. And if you have any questions about the safety or effectiveness of any drug, ask your pharmacist. He or she is a great resource when it comes to getting more information about your medication
http://www.wisc.edu/foodsafety/consu...april_1998.htm A Look at Food Product Dating and Expiration Dates
Why date food products? Quality, NOT safety. Dates on product packages recommend when to purchase or use for best quality. They are not safety dates.
Is food product dating required by law? No, it's voluntary. Except for infant formula and some baby food, product dating is not required by Federal regulations. However, if a calendar date is used, it must express both the month and day, immediately adjacent to the words "sell by" or "use by". Some states, such as Wisconsin, require dating of products such as milk.
Can foods be sold after the product date? Yes. Since
product dating is voluntary by federal regulations, a retailer may legally sell foods beyond the date on the package as long as the product is wholesome. It is also legal for a retailer to change a date on wholesome fresh meat that has been cut up and wrapped in the meat department of the supermarket. However, it's not legal to alter, change or cover up a date on a product packaged under federal inspection. However, if a product has an expired date and the food remains wholesome, the product may continue to be offered for sale but the expired date must remain visible to the consumer.
What types of foods are dated? Open dating (use of a calendar date) is found primarily on perishable foods such as meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products. Closed dating (use of a code) might appear on shelf-stable products such as cans and boxes of cereal.
There are several types of dates that might appear on food products:
Sell-By dates appear on highly perishable products such as milk, meat and bread. These dates tell the store how long to
display the product for sale. You should buy the product well before the sell-by date to have sufficient time to use it at best quality.
Best Before, Better if Used Before and Best if Used By tell how long the product will retain its best flavor and quality. You'll find these dates on baked goods, cereals, snacks and some canned foods. The food is safe to eat after the date, but it might be stale or changed in taste or texture.
The Expiration, Use By or Use Before date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. You'll find this type of dating on eggs, yogurt and other products requiring refrigeration.
Closed or coded dates are packing numbers for use by the manufacturer to rotate the stock as well as to locate their products in the event of a recall. Look for these dates on canned goods and staples.
Is it safe to use products after the expiration date? A food that has been properly stored at home should be wholesome and of good quality for a reasonable period of time after the purchase date. A reasonable period of time may extend from
1-5 days for fresh meats;
3-7 days for perishable processed products such as milk;
3-5 weeks(!) for eggs.
If a food has developed an off odor, flavor or appearance caused by growth of spoilage bacteria, then discard it. Mishandled food should be discarded, even before the expiration date.
How long can consumers store products and still use them at top quality?
Follow these tips for the best quality:
Purchase the product well before the expiration date.
If the food is perishable, take it home immediately after purchase and refrigerate promptly. Freeze it if you can't use it within the recommended time. Once a perishable product is frozen, it doesn't matter if the date expires because foods kept frozen are safe indefinitely.
Expiriation Dates 
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