Expiration dates

>>9105103
Lawyers.

Expiration dates, Best before dates, and Best if used by dates are all essentially the same. The only one that is different are sell-by dates which denote the latest date a foodstuff should can be sold.

There is no uniform system for determining them. They usually just take samples and age them in a lab to determine how long it stays good. The thing people forget often is that the expiration date of packaged foods is no longer valid once opened.

>>9105103
>How do companies determine expiration dates for their product?

They make assumptions about the conditions in which the product might be stored/handled between the factory and the consumer. They then model how long the food will last under those conditions (bacterial growth is easily modeled given temperature). Take that number, pad the fuck out of it just to be safe, then print it on the container.

>>Do let their product age until it is ot safe to eat anymore?
That used to be done but nowadays it's mostly just calculated. Bacteria/mold growth rates are easy to model mathematically. They might also do some testing at elevated temperature via the time-temperature superposition principle. The idea is that you can simulate aging under certain conditions in much less time by using an elevated temperature.

>>What determines a best before date?
Depends entirely on the product in question. It might have to do with bacteria reaching an unsafe level. It might have nothing to do with actual spoilage and instead might have to do with a product retaining its texture or color.

For example, properly canned food will be safe from spoilage for decades if not longer. However its taste/texture/appearance can deteriorate even if the food is perfectly safe to eat from a bacterial point of view.