#Expiration Dates

[incognitopolls]

You just made pasta. You want parmesan cheese on it. You find one container left in the cabinet. It's still sealed, but the expiration date was 4 months ago. You unseal and smell it, and it smells like normal parmesan cheese.

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[hometoursandotherstuff]

Good to know, but the bottle expires? So, if the bottle is breaking down, and releasing toxins into the water, then the water isn't good, either. Six of one, half dozen of the other.

[bookishnotes]

http://www.instagram.com/booksxnaps

[trexalicious]

🤣

[melodysbookhaven]

“What I see now, emerging in the mirror, is this one, simple truth: learning to be broken is learning to be whole.”

Rebecca Serle, Expiration Dates

[edwardslovelyelizabeth]

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

"Wasn’t the hardest part of heartbreak the unpredictability? How you could feel the most connected to a person in one moment - like being in a teardrop together, the world a watercolor outside - and like strangers in the next?”

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

Soft and soul-wrenching, Expiration Dates takes a magical realism look at love and relationships. It places a premium on the concept of fate vs. free will, of learning to live with impending uncertainty, and of deciding to invest your whole heart regardless of time constraints.

Ever since she was a little girl, Daphne Bell has received notes from the universe that stated the name of the next man she would date as well as how long the relationship would last. Whether it was days, months, or on a couple occasions, years, the notes were always accurate. So she grew to follow them to the letter even when her feelings protested, yearning for the day when she'd receive one without an end date, but secretly believing it'd never happen. However, all that changes after she receives a card with one name and nothing else: Jake.

Could this mean he is her soulmate? Is that why there was only a name and no expiration date? Or have these notes over the years been acting more as self-fulfilling prophecy because Daphne's been too afraid to face, let alone share, a devastating secret about herself?

Told with warmth and resonant emotion, this book asks readers to imagine how one might approach love differently if one knew precisely how long it would last. The author does a good job of illustrating the struggle that exists between wanting to be as present as possible in a relationship while also fearing/dreading the loss of someone whether it's imminent or not. Daphne is a character who toils intensely over life decisions, especially when it comes to love, so it is both affecting and satisfying for readers to be a part of her journey of self-discovery. Jake and Hugo are both great counterparts, too. They each bring out different sides of her, challenge her in diametric ways.

All around, this was poignant read with a unique concept and unexpected twists. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my review!

3.5/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

[dance-in-my-storm]

“Wasn’t the hardest part of heartbreak the unpredictability? How you could feel the most connected to a person in one moment - like being in a teardrop together, the world a watercolor outside - and like strangers in the next?”

-Rebecca Serle, Expiration Dates

[mercerislandbooks]

Book Notes: Expiration Dates

Sometimes you pick up a book on a whim and feel, almost against your will, pulled into the plot. Unable to extricate yourself because each chapter expertly leads you into the next until you’re in so deep you have to find out what happens. Such was my experience with Rebecca Serle’s forthcoming book, Expiration Dates.

Daphne Bell’s romantic relationships have all been bound by one thing: a piece of paper that appears before or in the initial moments of meeting a man telling her how long they’ll be together. So far, the papers have never been wrong. And then one day, on her way out to the door to a blind date set up by a friend, Daphne gets a paper with no expiration date. Just the name of the man she’s going to meet — Jake. Suddenly Daphne has all the time in the world to explore a relationship with Jake, and all the confidence of believing she’s guaranteed a lifetime with this person. But as things move along with Jake, Daphne wonders how much knowing you're meant to be with someone impacts truly wanting to be with them.

Rebecca Serle does an excellent job with the slow reveal, and she uses first person, which isn’t something I encounter too often in adult fiction. To begin with I experienced Daphne as a person with abundant self-confidence yet detached and without much personal passion. But the further I got into the book and the more Daphne revealed about herself, I began to appreciate how her life had shaped her. I kept turning down pages for lines I loved for their authenticity, until, by the end, it was all just so real and vulnerable I could have turned down every page. Expiration Dates is not a conventional romance by any means, but the pleasure of it comes from both the intricacy of the construction (which would lend itself to rereading) and the deceptively straightforward prose. This would be the perfect book to buddy read with a friend because there’s so much to discuss.

Expiration Dates comes out March 19th, so put in your preorder now and have a great book to look forward to!

— Lori

[princessofbookaholics]

currently reading and loving 📃

[trooperst-3v3]

Have terrible heartburn today.

It's probably because I'm so stressed and overworked and not at all because I just found a half gallon of orange juice and a box of frozen jalapeño poppers in my mini fridge that had an expiration date of tomorrow and didn't want them to go to waste, so I scarfed them down as fast as I could so I could finish them before midnight.

Yeah. Definitely the stress.

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

This has spurred me to finally purge my old skincare products. Thanks, @teaboot

Working up to doing the same with beloved old makeup products that I justify having since high school. I’m gonna miss some of these eyeshadows terribly.

psa

For anyone who doesn't know, cosmetic and hygiene products can produce bacteria and fungi after they expire, and the ingredients can break down and cause burns, rashes, and allergic reactions after this time as well.

To check if your products need to be replaced, you can look for a written date of expiry, or look for this symbol on the container. This will tell you how many months it's still good for after you open it and break the hygiene seal.

Like food expiries, it's not precise down to the wire, but it does give you a clear idea of how much time you have to work with it before things get icky.

If you're like me and forget how long you own stuff, I recommend writing down the date of opening on the container in permanent marker.

Sincerely, someone who found a lost bottle of shampoo from 2011.

[xtruss]

What's The Difference Between 'Sell By,' 'Use By,' And 'Best By' Dates?

Here's everything to know about expiration dates — and why they often matter less than you think.

— By Lauren Breedlove | April 4, 2024

A single egg in bowl with expiration date clearly visible. Photo: Ken Tannenbaum/Getty Images

It's the middle of the night, and you find yourself in front of the fridge. As you reach for the wedge of cheese or box of treats that lured you out of bed in the first place, you realize there's a tiny date stamped on the label. It's a "use-by" date. No, wait, it's a "sell-by" date. Or is that a "best-by" date? To add to the confusion, the date may not really matter all that much.

How to Understand Food Expiration Dates

Although dating food items is not required by U.S. federal law (except for infant formula and baby food), most manufacturers do it voluntarily. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), "For meat, poultry, and egg products under the jurisdiction of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), dates may be voluntarily applied provided they are labeled in a manner that is truthful and not misleading and in compliance with FSIS regulations. To comply, a calendar date must express both the month and day of the month. For shelf-stable and frozen products, the year must also be displayed. Additionally, immediately adjacent to the date must be a phrase explaining the meaning of that date, such as 'Best if Used By.'"

It's up to the grocery stores and markets to stock their shelves with the freshest items displayed behind or under the oldest products. For example, items like eggs typically hit store shelves just a few days after being laid, and cartons with the USDA grade shield are required to include a "pack date," which tells consumers when they were washed, graded, and packaged.

But that's a lot of labels — and oftentimes, food is perfectly safe to eat past its expiration date. Here's a guide to the most common expiration labels you're likely to see at the grocery store.

Use-By Date

Use-by dates suggest the peak quality of a product, and are not safety dates. According to the USDA, “With the exception of infant formula, if the date passes during home storage, a product should still be safe and wholesome if handled properly until spoilage is evident. Spoiled foods will develop an off-odor, flavor, or texture due to naturally occurring spoilage bacteria. If a food has developed such spoilage characteristics, it should not be eaten.”

Best If Used By Date

This label is strictly a quality date, suggesting when the product will have its best taste and texture.

Sell-By Date

This label indicates to stores how long a product should remain on shelves, and products are often safe to consume well after their sell-by date passes. In fact, according to the Institute for Food Safety and Health at the Illinois Institute of Technology, "one-third of a product's shelf-life remains after the sell-by date for the consumer to use at home."

How to Store Dairy Products to Keep Them Good As Long As Possible

Freeze-By Date

Think of this label as the "use-by" date but for freezing. Freezing most food products extends their life, and this date will tell you when to freeze an item at its highest quality.

Expires On/Do-Not Use Date

This label indicates that a product be ineffective after the date listed. Along with baby formula, baking ingredients like cake mixes, baking powder, and yeast may have this label.

When Can You Tell If Food Has Gone Bad?

If expiration dates don't always matter, how do you know when to toss something? Rely on your senses — if the product has an unpleasant odor or feels slimy, it may be spoiled and unsafe to consume.

It's also important to store and handle your food properly once you purchase it. For example, eggs should be refrigerated in their original carton and kept in the coldest part of the fridge (not the door). Once you open an item, its life gets a lot shorter. If you open a package of raw bacon, for instance, you have about a week to eat it before it could start spoiling, according to the FSIS.

Shelf-stable items that can be stored at room temperature, like canned goods (unless otherwise labeled), flour, and pasta, can be good for years, according to the FSIS. High-acid items like fruits and juices can be kept for 12-18 months, while low-acid items like canned vegetables or most soups are fine in your pantry for up to five years. For a more complete list of shelf-stable items and their life span, visit the FSIS Food Safety page.

[frombehindthepen]

Shelf Life

Shelf Life #Purpose #ExpirationDates

Image Credit: Squirrel_photos I sometimes wonder how ‘long’ items have been sitting on a grocery store shelf before they decide it’s time to put them on sale. So here’s the deal. I often purchase things like apple sauce and buy a few jars, especially when they are on sale. I am reluctant, however, to do that anymore if I am not planning on consuming it shortly after I buy it. Now, this…

[melodysbookhaven]

“But being surprised by life isn't losing, it's living. It's messy and uncomfortable and complicated and beautiful. It's life, all of it. The only way to get it wrong is to refuse to play.”

Rebecca Serle, Expiration Dates