It's easy to tell if something like meat or vegetables has gone bad simply by the smell or taste of the product. And checking expiration dates on food products like salad dressing is a common practice — but would you ever check the expiration date on bottled water?
Now you will.
A recent video from our partner studio, The List TV, shares seven products that aren't commonly known to have an expiration date, but do. Bottled water, for example, should be used within a year of purchasing it or the chemicals in the plastic can seep into the water, according to the video above.
There's an ongoing debate with regards to food products as to whether or not expiration dates are for safety reasons or simply because of the taste.
According to Ellie Topp, a professional home economist, it's the latter. She told CBC that most of the time, many foods past their "best before" dates are still fine to eat, they may just taste or cook differently. As the Canada Food Inspection Agency notes, this applies to unopened foods, as once the packaging is open, shelf life changes.
In a paper on the subject, however, Topp writes that expiration on products like meat and dairy should still be followed closely.
Of course, it's not only food that "goes bad": everything from soaps and make-up to water and alcohol has an expiration date.
Watch the video above to find out which seven products could require quality control that you never considered before.
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