Fortified Candy Bars redux

I mentioned my favorite protein bar in a post earlier this year.  I take them traveling, so I packed some for my trip to the USSSA Worlds in Orlando, FL last weekend.  Never mind how we did, I'm here to write about the protein bars.

When I ran out of the bars I brought, I picked up some more at the Publix in Kissimmee.  Or maybe it was the Walmart.  No, I think it was Publix.

Anyway, I noticed it seemed to have a much darker color than I was used to, and was dryer and tougher to chew. I'm guessing it was closer to the expiration date than what I had been used to.

When I came back, I remembered a similar experience when I bought some of those bars on clearance at the local GNC a couple weeks ago.  Lo and behold, I found the wrapper to one of those.  The photos below show the wrapper of the "clearance" bar, and the freshly-opened bar I just purchased at the local Walmart earlier this week.

The difference in freshness was obvious.  I wish I could show you how the older bar looked. (Well, "wish" is putting it a bit strong; "would like to but can't" is more accurate.) Their expiration dates, excuse me, "sell by" dates, are a year apart.

I saw a teaser on CBS This Morning about sell-by, use-by, or make-banana-bread-by dates and what they really mean, if anything (teasing an old bit, apparently).  I didn't get the least bit ill from eating the old bar, but eating it was nowhere near as enjoyable as the fresh one I bought this week.

Generally speaking,  that is what companies will tell you the dates are meant for.  You don't have to pour out that expired-yesterday milk (sniff it first), nor the bread (check for mold, though), or toss out that MetRx bar.  Just don't blame the company if it isn't as good as you expected.

Expiration Dates Revisited

I had some Act I microwave popcorn I found in the back of the Lazy Susan ready to nuke as a post-Gophers-basketball-game depression snack. Before putting it in, I noticed the "Best By Jun 2006" stamp on it. (Yes, "June" was abbreviated, saving the corporation's shareholders untold millions in ink expense, which is especially important in these times. Except it was printed before Jun 2006, at least a couple years before "these times" began.)

So I threw out the bag, which is pretty ridiculous on a few levels:

1) I have three other bags from the same box, which I did not throw out; I'm too lazy to go back to the Lazy Susan. I'm not sure if that is technically ironic, but it sounds like...something.
2) As hot as it gets in a microwave, any dangerous spoilage that may have occurred due to the age of the prodcut would likely have been completely fried.
3) I highly doubt any serious spoilage did occur. That stuff is probably suitable for bomb shelters.
4) Even if spoilage is not the issue, but simply product freshness/quality is, am I really that picky? No, not one bit. As evidenced by my second choice: Orville Redenbacher Organic low-cal, stamped "Best By Dec 2008," and slightly burnt.

I think I threw out the wrong bag.

No Use Crying Over Sour Milk

My 1 1/2 year-old's empty bottle looked funky this morning. So I got a clean one, and gave him some fresh, organic whole milk.

At least I thought it was fresh. My wife bought it a week ago today, and organic milk lasts longer than "regular." Except that the expiration date on this milk was 1/11/09, or seven days ago, the exact date my wife bought it.

I absolutely never buy milk without checking the expiration date. That's why I didn't notice it being expired in the refrigerator: it wouldn't even be in there were it expired! My wife seems to be more concerned about expiration dates than I. If I recall correctly, she won't even use bread past the expiration date. (I think she gets it from her mom, who's even worse.) If it's a couple days past "due," but it looks and smells OK and has been in the fridge all the while, I'll eat it. I think most would.

But she missed it this time and, subsequently, so did I. I figure the milk has been certifiably sour since yesterday, because I actually had a taste of it Friday, and it tasted awfully strong. I shrugged it off then as my just not having had whole milk in a while and thus not being used to the taste. I shrugged off the experience in the bathroom later as just "one of those things."

I now know, thanks to Google, the "funkiness" of his bottle was due to the seperation of the curd and whey, which happens in this stage of milk going bad. The stronger-than-normal smell from his diaper is no longer a mystery, either.

As for the little guy, he seems fine right now. He's happily playing and tormenting his big brother. But I'll be glad when the sour milk runs its course by the end of the day. And I can guarantee I'll never miss another expiration date - at the store or at home - again.