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The Myth of Drug Expiration Dates (propublica.org)
schwit1 shares a report from ProPublica: Hospitals and pharmacies are required to toss expired drugs, no matter how expensive or vital. Meanwhile the FDA has long known that many remain safe and potent for years longer. The box of prescription drugs had been forgotten in a back closet of a retail pharmacy for so long that some of the pills predated the 1969 moon landing. Most were 30 to 40 years past their expiration dates -- possibly toxic, probably worthless. But to Lee Cantrell, who helps run the California Poison Control System, the cache was an opportunity to answer an enduring question about the actual shelf life of drugs: Could these drugs from the bell-bottom era still be potent?
Gerona and Cantrell, a pharmacist and toxicologist, knew that the term "expiration date" was a misnomer. The dates on drug labels are simply the point up to which the Food and Drug Administration and pharmaceutical companies guarantee their effectiveness, typically at two or three years. But the dates don't necessarily mean they're ineffective immediately after they "expire" -- just that there's no incentive for drugmakers to study whether they could still be usable.
Tests on the decades-old drugs including antihistamines, pain relievers and stimulants. All the drugs tested were in their original sealed containers. The findings surprised both researchers: A dozen of the 14 compounds were still as potent as they were when they were manufactured, some at almost 100 percent of their labeled concentrations. Experts say the United States might be squandering a quarter of the money spent on health care. That's an estimated $765 billion a year.
Gerona and Cantrell, a pharmacist and toxicologist, knew that the term "expiration date" was a misnomer. The dates on drug labels are simply the point up to which the Food and Drug Administration and pharmaceutical companies guarantee their effectiveness, typically at two or three years. But the dates don't necessarily mean they're ineffective immediately after they "expire" -- just that there's no incentive for drugmakers to study whether they could still be usable.
Tests on the decades-old drugs including antihistamines, pain relievers and stimulants. All the drugs tested were in their original sealed containers. The findings surprised both researchers: A dozen of the 14 compounds were still as potent as they were when they were manufactured, some at almost 100 percent of their labeled concentrations. Experts say the United States might be squandering a quarter of the money spent on health care. That's an estimated $765 billion a year.
Drug companies have no more incentive to extend / eliminate expiration dates than DeBeers has for telling women a used diamond's as good as a new one.
Mother: "Silly, child! You bought Himalaya Salt, with expiration date next month!" :("
Child: "Wow, that must have been very unlucky. The salt lying in the Himalaya mountains for millions of years and just after they got it into the shop its expiration date is over
Honestly, if stuff is on a more or less constant temperature and safe from light, most things last nearly indefinitely. E.g. sugar, flour, oils, etc. especially if they are in air tight containers. Even a egg in the fridge lasts half a year, it only dries out slowly.
Food in tin cans easy lasts for decades, despite of the expiration date being in 6 month or what ever.
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
Your post, useful? Perhaps not. Informative and interesting? Perhaps not.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
This is either the best troll Slashdot has seen in a while, or we've got a low UID grumpy old git...
-- "...I'm a bad guy because I, well, I sing some rock-and-roll songs." M. Manson