Expiration Date

Definition

The expiration date is a date printed on a product's label that indicates the last day the product is considered safe and effective for use. It is a crucial piece of information for ensuring the quality and potency of medications, as well as other consumer goods, are maintained within acceptable limits.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Expiration dates are set by the manufacturer based on stability testing to ensure the product maintains its potency, purity, and safety until that date.
2. Using a medication or product after its expiration date can be risky, as the active ingredients may have degraded, leading to decreased effectiveness or potential safety issues.
3. Proper storage conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and light exposure, can help extend a product's shelf life and maintain its quality up to the expiration date.
4. Certain medications, such as liquid formulations or those that require reconstitution, may have a shorter expiration date or a beyond-use date that is earlier than the expiration date.
5. Expiration dates are an important consideration in dosage calculations, as the potency of a medication may decrease over time, leading to inaccurate dose measurements.

Review Questions

• Explain the importance of expiration dates in the context of dosage calculations.
  • Expiration dates are crucial in dosage calculations because they indicate the last day a medication is considered safe and effective for use. As a medication approaches or exceeds its expiration date, its potency may decrease, leading to inaccurate dose measurements if the expiration date is not taken into account. Dosage calculations must consider the expiration date to ensure the patient receives the appropriate therapeutic dose, as using an expired medication could result in decreased efficacy or potential safety issues.
• Describe how storage conditions can impact a product's expiration date and stability.
  • Proper storage conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and light exposure, can significantly affect a product's shelf life and expiration date. Medications and other products are typically tested and formulated to maintain their quality and potency when stored under the recommended conditions. Improper storage, such as exposure to extreme temperatures, moisture, or direct sunlight, can cause the active ingredients to degrade more quickly, leading to a shorter expiration date or the product becoming unsafe or ineffective before the stated expiration date.
• Analyze the differences between expiration date, shelf life, and beyond-use date, and explain how they are interconnected in the context of medication management.
  • The expiration date, shelf life, and beyond-use date are all related but distinct concepts in medication management. The expiration date is the manufacturer-determined last day a product is considered safe and effective for use, based on stability testing. The shelf life is the length of time a product can be stored before it starts to degrade in quality or become unsafe. The beyond-use date is the date after which a medication should not be used, typically calculated from the date the medication was compounded or first opened. These dates are interconnected because the expiration date is determined by the product's shelf life, and the beyond-use date is often earlier than the expiration date, especially for medications that are reconstituted or have a shorter stability profile once the original packaging is opened.

Related terms

Shelf Life: The length of time a product can be stored before it starts to degrade in quality or become unsafe for use.

Beyond-Use Date (BUD): The date after which a medication should not be used, typically calculated from the date the medication was compounded or first opened.

Stability: The ability of a drug or product to maintain its chemical, physical, microbiological, and therapeutic properties within specified limits throughout its shelf life.