FEEDING FACTS
HOW OLD IS TOO OLD?
How old is too old? Most anything that we buy foodwise has a date on it, whether that is a “date of manufacture,” a “use by date” or a “sale by date.” How important is that and how concerned should you as producers be about those kinds of things? Clearly, knowing which kind of date you’re dealing with is the place to start. In the grocery store, you will see “sale by dates” or “use by dates” and they should be clearly marked as such. Those dates are based on years of research and trial. They tend to be fairly accurate given that you store the products in the same manner when you get them home. Changing storage methods can alter the accuracy of those dates. For example, if you leave a gallon of milk in your truck for 14
Cooperative Farming News
two or three days in July, it really does not matter what date is stamped on the jug and conversely, if you put some things in the freezer, they will stay safe well past whatever date is stamped on the package. It simply takes a bit of common sense to figure those things out and most people have little trouble with making those decisions. Pet foods usually have a significant shelf life, often months if not years, and are generally safe through those dates, which tend to be “use by dates” and not “sale by dates.” This long shelf life is a really nice feature that adds to flexibility throughout the process. Most livestock feeds will use a “manufacture date” and it is most often on the feed tag itself. This leads to
