I bought some packs of assorted flavors of yogurt, I can’t remember how long ago, the last individual “cup” has been in the refrigerator and yesterday I put it in my lunch before leaving the house. Being yogurt, I’m not especially worried about it going a couple of days or even a few days beyond its expiration date and I will still eat it as long as it’s not blatantly obvious that it is spoiled.
Then when break time came and I ate my lunch, I at least wanted to see what the expiration date was. Lo and behold, this is why I found:
The expiration date is stamped directly over the name of the product, both the stamp and the name are in black ink, and the font/size of the name are much larger and thicker than the stamp, obscuring the latter to the point of illegibility.
I opened it anyway to inspect the contents, no visible nor olfactory indications of it having gone bad, so I mentally flipped a coin, decided to try it, and 18 hours later, everything still appears to be fine. However, what good does it do to put the expiration date on a product in a way that it can’t be read? Grrrrrrrr.
:(
Thank you, great idea!
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Date stamping is all done by automation. The exact position the product sits when the stamp rolls over it is pure happenstance (vibrations, package loading, etc.), thus many times it is over a logo or wording. Manufacturers don't care whether or not you can read the date. To them it's an extra expense they'd rather not incur (ever noticed that sometimes the date is missing? (stamp ran out of ink, roller missed the product, date stamp not turned on, etc)).
Of course, we all assume that the computer changed the stamp date on the following days batches. If there's a "glitch", it could be off (+ or -). Date or no date, better to rely on one's nose (bad/off smell) and sight (off color) before consuming any product.
(Oh, do be careful when flipping a mental coin. Sometimes you might not catch it and it could fall into the product in question. We all know how dirty people's minds are; so that "coin" probably isn't "clean").
“Your Honor, I’m completely innocent of these charges that have been leveled against me. In fact, I find them not only libelous and slanderous, they’re also ridiculous, outrageous, facetious and disastrous!”
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This particular one was part of a six-pack with a wrapper around the individual cups.
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Spunky 