Northfin sent fish food 1 month from expiry claiming it is fine to use after it expires?

[janicetan]

Hi everyone! I recently ordered some food from Northfin USA and had it shipped to where I live (Singapore) via a third party. Most of the food had acceptable expiry dates (2026, 2027) except for the Jumbo Fish Formula 6mm. 

The expiry date (December 2023) was a little over a month away from the time of ordering (29 October 2023). I ordered 3 packets of 250g for the explicit purpose of keeping it as fresh as possible without having to import Watermelon's, my flowerhorn turned family pet, too often. When I ordered last year on the 2nd of November, the packet I received had an expiry date of October 2024.

I reached out to Northfin USA about this and this was their response:

"Thanks for reaching out! With dried foods that are sealed the food would still be fine to use past that date - as long as it is kept sealed and dry!"

What are your opinions on this? How do you think this will affect the safety and nutritional content of the food?

[quikv6]

Hey Janice....pull those stickers off and see what the actual original expiration date was. I have read on another forum that they put those stickers over the actual expiration date to allow the continued sale of "expired" food at full price.

As for using it....I still would, but that is just my opinion.

[mynameisnobody]

@janicetan it’s so ironic, you buy your flowerhorn food from the US and I buy mine from Singapore. 

[Biotope Biologist]

Expiration dates are not at all controlled by any U.S governing body. But they are required on just about every product. Which leads to things like fish food which is shelf stable having expirey dates. As long as it is still sealed it will last a long time. 
 

We even have expiration labels on pickles an item famously shelf stable for decades. I always offer the “smell test” humans are actually quite remarkable at detecting when food has gone bad or stale.

[Tanked]

My first guess is that you are the recipient of the last bags from an older production run. Unfortunately the label  is probably legitimate.  A quick search seems to indicate that Northfin is not consistent in their labeling practices.

On dry products, I personally don't follow expiration dates to closely.  The food doesn't know what the date is. I would put the bags in the freezer until you are ready to use them.  If the product looks and smells like the product you are using now, than you are probably ok.

Assuming that they are still the parent company, you could try writing to the manufacturer directly with your concerns.  You might get a better response.

Canadian Aquatic Feed Inc.
17 Canso Road Unit #16
Toronto, Ontario
M9W 4M1
Canada

 

 

 

[nabokovfan87]

I think repashy they recommend 6 months as the expiry (once opened) and for other foods Cory has mentioned time and again that as soon as you open it, some fish won't eat old food. The mindset of ordering based on how much you feed and trying to keep things "fresh".

I do think it's a bit crappy that they gave you food that is about to expire. Personally speaking, I would imagine that they should offer a replacement for this, if anything to purge out old stock on their side that they aren't able to sell once that date passes. I think as a customer, buying directly from the company, there is some pretty straightforward expectations and it's a situation where they are telling you it's absolutely safe to use, but they missed that step of offering a replacement if you have any concerns or don't feel comfortable using that food after that date.

At times I think we as humans don't realize that there's a shelf life and a "use this in X amount of time once opened" date.  I run into it all the time in the kitchen and arguing about dates isn't really the point, if it's bad it's bad! 😂

There's also what @Biotope Biologist was mentioning where there are websites that will give you an "is it safe to use past the expiration date" information from anything to fish meds and table salt to more difficult things like gel foods or other items. Some stuff might just not be as fresh or crunchy but is safe to use. Some stuff, meds or bread yeast, might not be as effective as they once were but it's definitely still safe to use.

Looking at the ingredients on the back, what makes sense to be shelf stable, that's how I would handle it.  Dehydrated foods were stable for years before refrigeration was invented and there's also things like seals that do help us out!

[janicetan]

On 11/18/2023 at 10:39 PM, mynameisnobody said:

@janicetan it’s so ironic, you buy your flowerhorn food from the US and I buy mine from Singapore. 

That's pretty funny! What brand do you usually buy? I am looking into what other brands I can consider for Watermelon!

On 11/18/2023 at 10:42 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

Expiration dates are not at all controlled by any U.S governing body. But they are required on just about every product. Which leads to things like fish food which is shelf stable having expirey dates. As long as it is still sealed it will last a long time. 

Thanks! How long do you think it might be safe to continue using if kept sealed? My worry is that with Singapore being so humid, it will go bad quick. I have forgotten about sealed, unopened bags of chips or other dry snacks and have found them to have turned soft, even before expiry. 

[janicetan]

On 11/18/2023 at 11:25 PM, Tanked said:

My first guess is that you are the recipient of the last bags from an older production run.

That is my suspicion too 🫠

 

On 11/18/2023 at 11:25 PM, Tanked said:

On dry products, I personally don't follow expiration dates to closely.  The food doesn't know what the date is. I would put the bags in the freezer until you are ready to use them.  If the product looks and smells like the product you are using now, than you are probably ok.

Assuming that they are still the parent company, you could try writing to the manufacturer directly with your concerns.  You might get a better response.

Canadian Aquatic Feed Inc.
17 Canso Road Unit #16
Toronto, Ontario
M9W 4M1
Canada

 

 

 

Thank you for the recommendations! I will try contacting the manufacturer!

[janicetan]

On 11/19/2023 at 3:12 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I think repashy they recommend 6 months as the expiry (once opened) and for other foods Cory has mentioned time and again that as soon as you open it, some fish won't eat old food. The mindset of ordering based on how much you feed and trying to keep things "fresh".

Thanks! I do try to keep to 6 months as soon as I open a bag of food and take out a smaller portion to use at a time so that I am hopefully not exposing the main container to air and light as much, I'm not sure if it being expired will affect how long I can use it once opened though.

On 11/19/2023 at 3:12 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I do think it's a bit crappy that they gave you food that is about to expire. Personally speaking, I would imagine that they should offer a replacement for this, if anything to purge out old stock on their side that they aren't able to sell once that date passes.

Agreed! It would definitely be better if they could contact customers to check if they were okay with receiving food so close to expiry first. Especially when I mentioned that I live in a different country and would prefer packets with further expiry dates if possible. Maybe they just don't have the time to I guess

On 11/19/2023 at 3:12 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

There's also what @Biotope Biologist was mentioning where there are websites that will give you an "is it safe to use past the expiration date" information from anything to fish meds and table salt to more difficult things like gel foods or other items. Some stuff might just not be as fresh or crunchy but is safe to use. Some stuff, meds or bread yeast, might not be as effective as they once were but it's definitely still safe to use.

Looking at the ingredients on the back, what makes sense to be shelf stable, that's how I would handle it.  Dehydrated foods were stable for years before refrigeration was invented and there's also things like seals that do help us out!

That's great thanks! I'll look for those websites and check it the ingredients on the back against it!

[MattyM]

On 11/28/2023 at 12:19 PM, janicetan said:

I do try to keep to 6 months as soon as I open a bag of food and take out a smaller portion to use at a time so that I am hopefully not exposing the main container to air and light as much, I'm not sure if it being expired will affect how long I can use it once opened though.

I do something similar - but I up the crazy factor and vac seal half of it and put in the freezer (I already had the vac seal so why not!). For the food I don't freeze, I do as you do and put some in a pill bottle so I'm not opening the main container much, and keep it all in the fridge.

I would also contact the company - can't hurt. 

 

[Biotope Biologist]

On 11/28/2023 at 9:57 AM, janicetan said:

How long do you think it might be safe to continue using if kept sealed? My worry is that with Singapore being so humid, it will go bad quick. I have forgotten about sealed, unopened bags of chips or other dry snacks and have found them to have turned soft, even before expiry. 

If that is a worry I would recommend a silicone desiccant packet. Nowadays most fish foods come with one stuffed at the bottom.

 

I also live in a high humidity environment and I stuff them everywhere to keep moisture out.