![shelf life shelf life](https://i1.wp.com/wanshon.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/12-Months-Shelf-life.png)
For example, rice, pasta or pepper, unless abused, can last quite a long time after their original package has first been opened, and the same can be said about pills such as aspirin. Both shelf lives depend on several factors (e.g., whether the opened container is kept refrigerated), many of them difficult to control, and they vary dramatically between different kinds of products. Usually, the term "shelf life" is associated with the expiration date, which indicates how long the product can be stored before being sold or consumed.Īccording to Nicoli and Calligaris, both the manufacturer and consumer ought to be more attentive to the fact that most if not all food and pharmaceutical products have two shelf lives, one in the sealed package or container, which they call primary, and another after it has been opened by the consumer, which they call secondary. The shelf life of perishable food and pharmaceutical products is principally of concern to their manufacturers and can become a safety issue to the consumer.
![shelf life shelf life](http://thejesuschick.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/shelf-life.png)
Snapshot 4: a very stable pharmaceutical product having a long shelf life that is also fairly stable after package opening (log-linear plot with a time scale of months) Snapshot 3: a product having a short shelf life that becomes even more perishable after package opening (linear plot with a time scale of days) Snapshot 2: a product having a long shelf life that is also fairly stable after package opening (linear plot with a time scale of days) Snapshot 1: a product having a long shelf life that becomes perishable after package opening (log-linear plot with a time scale of days)