Hye.

I am curious as to how the food manufacturers determine the food's expiry dates.
It's pretty darn accurate.

Say, the label on the Gardenia bread says that the bread is going to expire by 03/12/12.
Serious dey, on 03/12/12 can still eat (means no mold on the bread yet), but on 04/12/12, surely expire dy.

So question is, how'd they know for certain (and pretty accurately) when the food is going to expire?

Test before. Bake then everyday a sucker will eat 1 slice, When the guy is too scared then it's expired.

Gardenia bread still can be eat even after 2 weeks after expiry date. What's ur say?

My Vietnamese housemate still eats his bread after two weeks in the fridge.

This post has been edited by bb100: Dec 2 2012, 04:40 PM

Thanks guys for the responses.

But I think you guys are missing my point.

My query is, how'd the food manufacturers able to accurately determine the expiry dates of their foods? I mean, the expiry date is something of the future, and yet the dates are pretty accurate.

Is there a mechanisms/ calculations on determining the expiry date?

through food microbiology aspect maybe. the growth and development of potential microbes that may affect that particular food from the day it is produce and how long does it take for the microbe to reach to its full growth and to (1)release toxins (2)cause health effects if it is taken.

I will too. I'm in favour of using our senses and our brains. Not just looking at the expiry date. If the food is spoilt, throw away. Nevermind if it is before the expiry date. If the food is not spoilt, don't throw away. Even if it's past the expiry date.

The expiry date is for you to use in the store. Before you buy it. It's harder to tell if the food is spoilt when it's still in the packaging.

How they determine. By testing. Manufacture a small test batch the same way, store in the lab, and open some up after 3, 5, 7, 10, etc days. See if it is spoilt. For very long expiry dates (eg years), you don't have to wait that long. Can measure the level of "spoilage" and extrapolate using biological math models.

BTW: I'm just guessing. I do not work in the food industry.

After two weeks, man! Bread where can last for so long one? At most, one week OK lahh. But two weeks??? Want jimat also not like that gua...?

from the freezer, still edible after weeks. just defrost and toast it/egg-toast it..

what's so big deal, in the freezer, most bacteria is dead/inactive, then you heat it again, all dead lo

Workers working offshore in the drilling yards in the sea buys LOAVES of breads and tossed them into the fridge up to 6 months and eat them. problem?

The trick of the fridge thing is put the bread in the freezer....can last long

With anything, it's not uncommon for the manufactures to do some testing. With the same ingredients and preservatives at a certain temp, humidity, avg expiry date is possible to to be determined

there is this thing called "lab" where u can set typical humidity, temperature and such.

leave the some bread there and observe.

can?

Same like a bridge. How do they know the load limit on bridges ?
After built, they drive bigger and bigger trucks over the bridge until it breaks. Then they weigh the last truck and rebuild the bridge.
- Calvin & Hobbes

shelf life test should have been done
gardenia should have known the 'dangerous' amount of mould count that can be consumed by a human.
they should have done studies like when do their roti reach that 'dangerous' amount after production. hence u get the expiry date.

its common even for drinks manufacturer to do that. no honorable producer would want their client to shit brix and put their product on the front page of newspaper, so they dont normally fool around with the dates. follow it, eat healthy

^ The last reply seems more like a more reasonable answer.

But it still got me curious, as to how they could accurately determined the expiry date. I mean, how'd they know how the products are placed in the shelf, or during transportation. And still, a day after the expiry date, the products seems to be stale. Not a day before, not a few days later.

errmmm...shelf life tests will put the roti into an oven and keep the oven internal temperature at a temperature the mould will be the strongest. then see how many days is that

Actually, u do know it has preservatives right?

Lets just say X amount of preservative will keep it good for X amount of days.


Have u noticed fresh milk nowadays expiry date are atleast 1 month?
If u've been old enough to notice it, it used to last not longer than 7 days at 10 years ago.

Saw a tv show where they tested food expiry date. Concluded that most food expiry date is earlier than actual to set buffer for accidental consumption. Meaning lots of food are still safely edible after consumption date.

Dried food can be eaten safely for years after expiry date. Like noodles.

I've always thought it was the improved packing which preserved the milk, like Tetra Pak. Becos a lot of drinks (like soya milk) states no preservatives but the expiry date is like months away.

This post has been edited by Dannyl: Dec 9 2012, 12:17 PM

what bout 3-5 months in can food? they need to test it out by waiting eh? lolz

they precisely control every parameters for the end to end of bread-making process to make sure each batch of bread have that kind of consistency.

then small scale test lo. when the bread they make are that consistent in terms of quality, through small scale lab test can see what's the minimum and maximum date the bread is most likely to spoil.

then set the expiry date before the minimum perishing date. gaodim.

Fresh milk is ~1 month from factory.
Minus delivery/warehouse, usually when reach the shelves is about 2-3 weeks left.

UHT milk is several months, up to 6-9 months.

Soya milk without preservatives, can lasts about 3-5 days, max maybe 7.
Anything longer than that, confirm got at least some preservatives.
Easy, just buy some soya beans, grind it, boil and make soya milk. Then you let it cool down and immediate store in fridge. See how long can last.

Science. They dont pluck the numbers from thin air..

If you notice most food products they don't write "Expiry Date" but "Best Before". That is just the shelf date as a guideline for store owners. Most of the time even if after the best before date, the product is still safe for consumption.

There's just too many factors that contribute to how long the food can last, the safest way is to state a date much earlier than what the manufacturers expect the food will actually spoil.