Does Bottled Water Expire?
I stumbled on an article about a guy who ate expired food for a whole year to prove some weird point about waste to his family. That’s the type of thing you do when you’re waiting till 6pm to switch on your big generator. Anyway, it did get me thinking about bottled water and expiration dates because some brands tend to list it.
Also, I’ve been scolded by Folly one time for drinking “old” water. According to the US Food & Drug Administration,
"Bottled water is considered to have an indefinite safety shelf life if it is produced in accordance with CGMP and quality standard regulations and is stored in an unopened, properly sealed container. Therefore, FDA does not require an expiration date for bottled water. However, long-term storage of bottled water may result in aesthetic defects, such as off-odor and taste."
So technically, it doesn’t expire, but the bottle gets a bit weird if I’m reading that correctly. When bottled water manufacturers list an expiration date, it’s often a “best by” date for quality control purposes. Chemicals from the bottle tend to mess with the taste of the water so you won’t die, but it’ll taste funky. Either way, in a zombie apocalypse, you won’t be worried by all that.
When opened, it’s a different ballgame, however. The rim, which comes in contact with your mouth, can pass off some tiny germs to the cap. When that accumulates, it can be pretty gross so it’s advisable to keep bottles refrigerated between sips.
Other interesting things on the internet…
The gross guy I talked about earlier? Yeah, here’s the full story [Munchies]
If you're getting in the food delivery business, this is a good read. It’s about how a couple US-based restaurants are optimising for delivery by tweaking recipes lightly and streamlining menus. [NRN]
Did you know some decades ago there used be a thing called the “Ladies Menu” at fine dining restaurants in Europe and America? The Ladies Menu was a menu identical to the men’s menu but the prices weren’t listed. [Eater]
Well this one isn’t on the internet, but I heard Delifrance was forced out of business by Maison Kayser and not in the friendly market forces way either. If you have any more details, shoot us an email - editor[at]eatdrinklagos[dot]com