Determining Finished Product Expiration Date Based on Ingredient Expiry

Subject: Determining Product Expiration Date

Regarding your question about determining the expiration date of a finished product when an ingredient has an earlier expiration date:

The industry standard practice is to determine the finished product's shelf life based on the stability of the finished formulation, not by taking the earliest expiration date of any single ingredient.

Here's why:

• The expiration date on an ingredient is typically the date until which the ingredient manufacturer guarantees the quality or recommends retesting. It is not a strict "use by" date after which the ingredient is unusable.
• When you manufacture the finished product, you should test the ingredients to ensure they meet specifications at that time. As long as the ingredient passes quality control at the point of manufacturing, it is suitable for use.
• The shelf life of the finished product (e.g., 2 years) is determined by the product manufacturer based on the stability of the final formulation under expected storage conditions. This is often verified through stability testing of the finished product.

Therefore, option 2 is the standard approach in the industry: calculate the expiration date from the manufacturing date plus the determined shelf life (e.g., 2 years), provided the ingredients met quality standards at the time of manufacturing. Option 1 (using the earliest ingredient expiration date) is not the standard practice.