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Expiration dates--how long to keep stuff

A friend sent me this and I thought it was interesting.
Hints & Tips:             

"Expiration Dates"
 
  Beer
  Unopened: 4 months.

Brown sugar
Indefinite shelf life, stored in a moistureproof container in a  cool, dry place.

  Chocolate (Hershey bar)
  1 year from production date

  Coffee, canned ground
  Unopened: 2 years
  Opened: 1 month refrigerated

Coffee, gourmet
Beans: 3 weeks in paper bag, longer in vacuum-seal bag (After this time, color
Or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
Ground: 1 week in sealed container

  Coffee, instant
  Unopened: Up to 2 years
  Opened: Up to 1 month

  Diet soda (and soft drinks in plastic bottles)
  Unopened: 3 months from "best by" date.
  Opened: Doesn't spoil, but taste is affected.

  Dried pasta
  12 months

  Frozen dinners
  Unopened: 12 to 18 months

  Frozen vegetables
  Unopened: 18 to 24 months
  Opened: 1 month

  Honey (for those who do)
  Indefinite shelf life

  Juice, bottled (apple or cranberry)
  Unopened: 8 months from production date
  Opened: 7 to 10 days

Ketchup
Unopened: 1 year (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is
Still generally safe to consume.)
Opened or used: 4 to 6 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected,
But product is still generally safe to consume.)

  Maple syrup, real or imitation
  1 year

  Maraschino cherries
  Unopened: 3 to 4 years
  Opened: 2 weeks at room temperature; 6 months refrigerated

Mayonnaise (vegan or other)
Unopened: Indefinitely
Opened: 2 to 3 months from "purchase by" date (After this time, color or flavor
May be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)

Mustard
2 years (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still
Generally safe to consume.)

  Olives, jarred (green with pimento)
  Unopened: 3 years
  Opened: 3 months

Olive oil
2 years from manufacture date (After this time, color or flavor may be affected,
But product is still generally safe to consume.)

  Peanuts
  Unopened: 1 to 2 years unless frozen or refrigerated
  Opened: 1 to 2 weeks in airtight container

  Peanut butter, natural
  9 months

  Peanut butter, processed (Jif)
  Unopened: 2 years
  Opened: 6 months; refrigerate after 3 months

Pickles
Unopened: 18 months
Opened: No conclusive data. Discard if slippery or excessively soft.

Rice, white
  2 years from date on box or date of purchase

  Salad dressing, bottled
  Unopened: 12 months after "best by" date
  Opened: 9 months refrigerated

Steak sauce
33 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is Still generally safe to consume.)

  Tabasco
  5 years, stored in a cool, dry place

  Tea bags (Lipton)
  Use within 2 years of opening the package

Tuna, canned
Unopened: 1 year from purchase date
Opened: 3 to 4 days, not stored in can

Soy sauce, bottled
Unopened: 2 years
Opened: 3 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)

Vinegar
42 months

Wine (red, white)
Unopened: 3 years from vintage date; 20 to 100 years for fine wines
Opened: 1 week refrigerated and corked

Worcestershire sauce
Unopened: 5 to 10 years (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
Opened: 2 years

  Household Products

  Air freshener, aerosol
  2 years

  Antifreeze, premixed
  1 to 5 years

  Antifreeze, concentrate
  Indefinite

  Batteries, alkaline
  7 years

  Batteries, lithium
  10 years

  Bleach
  3 to 6 months

  Dish detergent, liquid or powdered
  1 year

  Fire extinguisher, rechargeable
  Service or replace every 6 years

  Fire extinguisher, nonrechargeable
  12 years

  Laundry detergent, liquid or powdered
  Unopened: 9 months to 1 year
  Opened: 6 months

  Metal polish (silver, copper, brass)
  At least 3 years

 
  Motor oil
  Unopened: 2 to 5 years
  Opened: 3 months

  Mr. Clean
  2 years

  Paint
  Unopened: Up to 10 years
  Opened: 2 to 5 years

  Spray paint
  2 to 3 years

  Windex
  2 years

  Wood polish (Pledge)
  2 years

Beauty Products
All dates are from the manufacture date, which is either displayed on the packaging or can be obtained by calling the manufacturer's customer-service number.

  Bar soap
  18 months to 3 years

  Bath gel, body wash
  3 years

  Bath oil
  1 year

  Body bleaches and depilatories
  Unopened: 2 years
  Used: 6 months

  Body lotion
  3 years

  Conditioner
  2 to 3 years

  Deodorant
  Unopened: 2 years
  Used: 1 to 2 years
  For antiperspirants, see expiration date

  Eye cream
  Unopened: 3 years
  Used: 1 year

  Face lotion
  With SPF, see expiration date. All others, at least 3 years

  Foundation, oil-based
  2 years

  Foundation, water-based
  3 years

  Hair gel
  2 to 3 years

  Hair spray
  2 to 3 years

  Lip balm
  Unopened: 5 years
  Used: 1 to 5 years

  Lipstick
  2 years

  Mascara
  Unopened: 2 years
  Used: 3 to 4 months

  Mouthwash
  Three years from manufacture date

  Nail polish
  1 year

  Nail-polish remover
  Lasts indefinitely

  Perfume
  1 to 2 years. Natural product perfumes can spoil if exposed to prolonged high temperatures (like our summers here in Spain!)

  Rubbing alcohol
  At least 3 years

  Shampoo
  2 to 3 years

  Shaving cream
  2 years or more

  Tooth-whitening strips
  13 months

  Wash'n Dri moist wipes
  Unopened: 2 years
  Opened: Good until dried out     

Hair gel
  2 to 3 years

  Hair spray
  2 to 3 years

Thanks! I was wondering how long I could keep this stuff for!  :D

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Thanks for the info.

I don't know why but I find the term "generaly safe" kinda funny :)

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;D Thanks!

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good read. thank you for posting

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tofu:
2 weeks past " expiry date" if never opened.

I've never used it past that time just because I was too nervous. 
At 2 weeks though, I didn't notice any difference in taste or smell.
:)

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Thanks!  as for ketchup and mustard, I always keep them refrigerated about opening, is this needed?

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Mustard should be alright unrefrigerated, tho some of the vinegar may separate out. Ketchup would depend on ambient temp. I don't know what is worse, our extreme summer heat or the constant "room temp" of folks with central heating. It depends how long the ketchup is hanging around tho, I guess. Me I like the contrast of the cold ketchup on the hot fries!

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maple syrup should also be refrigerated after opening.  (I think it usually says so on the bottle.)  Otherwise it goes bad really easily.

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I have learned to refrigerate just about anything with natural ingredients in it in our summer heat...I once lost a bottle of v. expensive perfume because I didn't put it in the fridge...when the heat is up above 100F for weeks on end, the essential oils spoil. Ugh! Maple syrup being tree sap, it would spoil so easy. Ketchup tho is sometimes so full of preservatives it has only a passing resemblance to a food product... ;D

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