Way Way Way OT

gmccool · Dec 5, 2015

I happened to be making supper to take over to my oldest daughter & I noticed that SALT in the salt shaker has a Best if used by date. Am I missing something? Does salt go flat or loose its salt content? I don't use enough salt that it really matters. It just seams odd to me that it would have a Best if used by date.

Steve in VA · Dec 5, 2015

My first thought was that perhaps the iodine additive may impart a life span so did some searching about. It appears that unseasoned salt has an infinite shelf life. So, in short, you've found one of those 'makes no sense, has no basis in reality' moments. After today's misadventures, I appreciate your bit of reality checking.

roy prins · Dec 5, 2015

dont ya think they want you to throw it away so as you would buy more? just a thought --- Roy

rrlund · Dec 5, 2015

From what I've heard,those dates are pretty much just for stock rotation in the store.

Cory Schmidt · Dec 5, 2015

Salt is a rock so how can it "expire". Sounds like a marketing gimmick(past date toss and buy new), date means nothing. Sort of like dates on canned goods.

PJH · Dec 5, 2015

Matthew 5:13
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."

Mark-Ia · Dec 5, 2015

look at bottled water on the shelf. It has a best if used by date also.

JRSutton · Dec 5, 2015

Morton Salt's FAQ page says iodized salt has a 5 year shelf life. It's the iodine that breaks down, not the salt itself.

Steve@Advance · Dec 5, 2015

Mark, I always wondered about the bottled water expiring...

But several years ago I was helping clean out a garage. The owner specifically said to throw the cases of water away. When I started moving them, I noticed that some of the plastic appeared to be dark colored around the water level line. Out of curiosity I opened one. It was awful! Had a rotten egg, acid smell to it.

I had a similar experience with an old anti freeze jug I had refilled with water and carried in the truck tool box. It had been in there probably 2-3 years, sure enough one day the truck overheated and needed a drink. I opened the jug and it had the same rotten smell, and the yellow jug was black on the inside! I went ahead and used it, but it was really bad!

David G · Dec 5, 2015

I bet a twinkie has a shelf life of 1000 years, water would have a shelf life due to the fact there are no preservatives in it to prevent bacteria growth.

Tech 7 · Dec 5, 2015

The 9 YEAR old cheddar that I like has a best before date. ???

Jeff B. · Dec 5, 2015

Probably has more to do with the plastic going bad than the water... also as someone else pointed out, maybe critters growing in the water since it's been caged up in oil based products.

Andy Martin · Dec 5, 2015

I think most products have a date that is two years from manufacture if there is not a reason for a shorter date. Some of the questionable ones are sugar, macaroni, tapioca, chocolate chips. I'm using up some tapioca my wife bought before her brain tumor and it has a 2012 expiration date. Works fine. I just started cooking and have used some really old spices (couldn't tell any problem), baking powder, baking soda, etc., some ten years expired.

Perplexed · Dec 5, 2015

I seem to remember an explanation for this passage. In those days they didn't have refined salt like we do today. Their source of salt was found in porous rocks that contained salt. They would take one of these rocks and put it in the food they were cooking and the salt would slowly dissolve and flavor the food. When the right amount of saltiness was reached , the rock would be removed. The rock would slowly loose its saltiness and be thrown out. This is a comparison to a persons faith in God.

JayinNY · Dec 6, 2015

I thought salt was a preservative? Why can't it preserve itself? Lol

JMOR · Dec 6, 2015

(quoted from post at 02:43:11 12/06/15) I thought salt was a preservative? Why can't it preserve itself? Lol

hese were pecans from my own trees, shelled by me, so no expiration date. Put in a freezer (not auto defrost!) & got pushed to the bottom & forgotten for 20 years. When needed to move freezer it was so heavy with frost build up that we had to thaw it. I opened those pecans & thought tasted just fine. Served them to others....just fine. I don't pay much attention to dates, just use my senses of sight, taste & smell.

JF in MI · Dec 6, 2015

I seem to remember way back when I got married my wife came with one of those labels.

jimg.allentown · Dec 6, 2015

Salt is just Sodium Chloride. NaCl. It does not and cannot spoil in any way. It would have to be any other ingredients in it that may have a shelf life. There are materials added to salt to prevent it from caking up. Those ingredients could be the reason for a "best by" date.

john *.?-!.* cub owner · Dec 6, 2015

Salt may not have a shelf life, but if exposed to air for an extended period it does tend to lose it's ability to enhance the taste of food. I used to keep a salt shaker in our camper, and about 2 years after it was opened it would need replaced whether it had much sue out of it or not. I assume it was the moisture in the air.

hd6gtom · Dec 6, 2015

Steve, have you read the label on water in wally world? I don't drink the stuff, don't know but it might bee worth someone looking into.

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