Deciphering Snus Best By/Expiration Dates

[bakerbarber]

The Thunder and other V2 products have a plastic label and all plastic cans. They are sealed better.

SM uses paper labels, and paperboard cans for the loose varieties.

That MAY be PART of the difference.

In reality; If you see the date has passed you might feel weird about having not so fresh snus. The solution for that is to buy more snus.

It's not bad until you think it's bad. I'd rather they all labeled a born on date. Then we would really know how old our snus is.

[snusgetter]

Expiration Dates Discussed

~


Health - Food safety
Feel lucky? Some food good past 'use by' date

Newlyweds Ty and Mike Kelty of Atlanta were consolidating their kitchens when the issue of expiration dates erupted.

Ty has a looser view of how long food is good beyond the date on the packaging. Mike occasionally has let something slide a day, but after that, ‘’even if it’s a whole gallon of milk, I’m throwing it out,’’ he says.

So her old rice and flour were tossed. “The stuff that went back to 2007 and 2008, it had to go,’’ he says.

Most Americans are like Mike. A new survey found that three in four U.S. consumers believe certain foods are unsafe to eat after the date on the packaging has passed. But experts say that if most foods are stored properly, they can be safe for days after the ‘use by’ date.

The recently released survey was sponsored by ShelfLifeAdvice.com, a food storage reference website that estimates U.S. consumers unnecessarily discard billions of dollars of food a year.

The Food and Drug Administration says the food date does not equate to safety. “If something is past its date, and stored properly, often it’s OK," says Ira Allen, an FDA spokesman.

Foods that can last far beyond an expiration date with proper storage include flour, sugar, rice and cake mixes, says Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia’s Center for Food Safety. “There’s no reason that dry goods wouldn’t be safe except if it becomes wet.’’

Peanut butter can be good for months beyond the date, too, he says.

You could get an extra year out of a breakfast cereal if it’s stored in a cool, dry place, adds Joe Regenstein, a professor of food science at Cornell University. Using closed containers for items such as rice or flour can extend their life, he says.

Toothpaste? “I have yet to figure out what can go wrong’’ with it, Regenstein says. Frozen foods, though, can form ice crystals that can ruin their quality, Doyle adds.

Eggs can be good for three to five weeks past the ‘use by’ date, according to the website, which allows users to look up specific foods. [NOTE: They have no listing for SNUS]

Watch out for cross-contamination

Rather than focusing only on the expiration date, consumers should pay close attention to cross-contamination, temperature control and sanitation issues that can lead to dangerous foodborne illnesses, these food safety experts say.

Salmonella and E.coli strike fresh products such as meat, produce and dairy. “Pathogen contamination is much more of a threat to people’s health than shelf life spoilage, ’’ Doyle says.

The date “tells us that the product will soon spoil,’’ says Doyle. “It gives us a few extra days before spoilage.’’

“Within a couple of weeks, it’s likely to spoil and not taste or smell good,’’ he adds. But even then, it’s not always harmful.

Most spoiled food is just yucky, resulting in perhaps a stomach ache if consumed, Regenstein says.

The FDA says molds on food can cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems, and that a few molds can have mycotoxins, which can make you sick.

'In most cases, it's kind of obvious'

The survey’s findings don’t surprise Regenstein, a member of ShelfLifeAdvice.com board of advisers. Many consumers fear that once a date is passed, the product will cause food poisoning, he says. “The dates are a guide, telling you to pay attention if you’re close or beyond it.’’

The food manufacturer generally determines the date, which marks the point when the quality of the food would deteriorate — not when it turns dangerous.

“In most cases, it’s kind of obvious when it’s spoiled,’’ Regenstein says. “Milk at some point will go bad. You pick that up with taste or smell."

Foods that you should watch the most for spoilage? Poultry, fish and meat. “That’s where we need to look at shelf life, and watch for the expiration date more,’’ Doyle says.

Even sodas have an expiration date. Doyle says that’s a matter of diet sodas going bad because artificial sweeteners break down. Regenstein says soda will lose carbonation in plastic containers and go flat, but isn’t harmful.

Cathy Svacina of Kansas City fretted about dates on food when raising five children. When the date passed, food was dumped even if it didn’t smell or look bad.

Now Svacina, with children grown, has eased her view of ‘use by.’ Not that she doesn’t pay attention. She takes a black marker to food packages when home from the grocery store. “I mark the dates with great big numbers,’’ she says. But that’s mainly so she can rotate the oldest to the front of the pantry or refrigerator. The stuff she’ll consume past the date includes dry mixes, rice and canned food with a high acidic content.

Her fears of salmonella have subsided — replaced, she says, by another concern: “Not wasting things.’’

Andy Miller is an Atlanta-based freelance journalist. His work has been published by WebMD, AOL's WalletPop and AARP. He was a longtime staff writer at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
© 2010 msnbc.com.

Imagine having a similar label on a can of Swedish SNUS?
(It is treated the same as food products in Sweden!)

[lxskllr]

Americans are idiots.

Condensed, and clarified that for you ;^)

[snusgetter]

Condensed, and clarified that for you ;^)

"Americans are idiots."

SUPER! Great Sound Bite. Let's not let O'Reilly steal it.


BTW, are you an editor, or do you just play one in real life?

[lxskllr]

I just play one on the interwebs :^P

[snusgetter]

I just play one on the interwebs :^P

Could you ask for a better pastime?

And have you noticed how much smarter the interwebs make us all!?!

[PipenSnus]

BTW, are you an editor, or do you just play one in real life?

He's masquerading as me. I'm the one who is an editor in real life.

[snusgetter]

He's masquerading as me. I'm the one who is an editor in real life.

Could we see your editor's hat?

Do you wear one of those green-shade visors?

Or is this more your style?

[c.nash]

I have meat in the freezer months past it's date... I still eat it when I want. :P

[SnusoMatic]

dates can be good or bad according to how you look at things. when i was growing up nothing had dates on them at all. I have bought milk that would kill you instantly it was so bad. I have bought candy bars full of worms. Flour with as much weevils as flour (well that's stretching it a little). And the list goes on and on and on. Mostly there was really no way to have a clue if a packaged product was fresh unless you really knew and trusted the retailer. Then dates came along and all that was history for the most part and you could buy something and know it was fresh.

THEN at some point that date became gospel and if something was one day over the date no one would eat it. Are dates total bs? NO. They are a guide but from my point of view their main value is keeping me from buying a candy bad (payday candy bars were bad to have worms for some reason yuk) with worms in it. Back in the days when it was an uphill walk to school AND back home in the snow, the way we told if for example milk was bad to to smell of it before we drank it. We cut the mold off cheese and ate the part left and momma sifted the flour to get the weevils out and then cook with it. I threw the maggot infested candy bars away yuuuuk.

Does that mean it's ok to eat something no matter how old it is? forget the age. smell it, taste it or whatever way best fits the product to find out if it's ok to eat. Some dates hit it pretty close and others are way off. Bread goes bad when it is stale and or has so much mold it turns you off.

Sorry about the rant but i've watched my kids throw out good stuff for years because the date told them. Got to tell you, the first time you turn a glass of milk up and slurp it down and it's sour you will smell it before you drink it next time.

can't leave out snus and dates... i find the snus dates are pretty close. Some brands are different but mostly i find that if the snus has been taken care of the date comes real close to pegging when it starts tasting different. is it bad? i have tasted some that did taste bad. most of it just taste different or not as good. what i worry about with snus and it's age is growth of cancer causing varmints. I just don't know how to tell about that so i don't use snus very much past the date.

[lxskllr]

what i worry about with snus and it's age is growth of cancer causing varmints. I just don't know how to tell about that so i don't use snus very much past the date.

TSNA count doesn't increase with snus age. If that's the only reason you're tossing it, you don't have to :^)

[LaZeR]

I have meat in the freezer months past it's date... I still eat it when I want. :P

I've got some meat past it's due date and it's doing fine.

I think.

[Jwalker]

Um If bread has any mold on it I throw it. Sugar and stuff like that never goes bad if you ask me. Worms and maggots in food now would get a company shut down or at least get their food recalled. I'm a courtesy clerk and when we have food recalls the cashier tells you if something you bought is recalled you can return it and half the time the customer says oh I already ate that stuff it was fine.

[SnusoMatic]

my 85 year old dad will eat almost anything no matter what. ive seen him eat stuff that was clearly too bad to eat. he came from the sticks and from a time when they literally went months without eating anything except collard greens. My best friend is the same way. it don't bother him in the least to come in my house, look and see dishes leftover from dinner, not even know who ate off them and finish eating the scraps off the plates haha. one time he pulled up in my drive, i went out and talked to him while he sat in the car. it was a hot summer day, maybe 90F outside and he reached under his car seat and pulled out a ham sandwich, unwrapped it and started eating it. I said how long has that been under your seat? He said since yesterday i had it leftover from lunch. I thought i was gonna puke on him haha.

[tom502]

I do sometimes cut off molded parts on bread, usually if that happens to be all I have.