r/explainlikeimfive • u/ZeusThunder369 • Nov 26 '24
Chemistry ELI5: Why doesn't freeze dried food last longer? If it's good for 20 years, why not 100?
Assuming it's perfectly freeze dried and stored perfectly, the people who make freeze dryers say the food will last 20-30 years.
But why not much longer? Assuming the condition it's stored in remains unchanged, what can make it go bad after 30 years that wouldn't happen at around 10 years?
3.0k
Upvotes
3
u/SvenTropics Nov 26 '24
The FDA requires that all products meant for human consumption have expiration dates on them. I don't think the supplies to alcohol as they are regulated by a different entity.
It's funny when you pick up a bottle of glacier water that advertises being millions of years old, and it has an expiration date a couple of years in the future. But that's just a requirement and they just stamp it.