# "Real Salt"'s sell-by date: 2028 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494 "2013-10-28T22:16:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/21 "2013-10-29T16:02:24Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > About thyme someone made that joke. It was no big dill. And that’s my fennel word. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/22 "2013-10-29T17:36:03Z")
The salt I use comes from a 300 million year old deposit. Expiration date? Ha!:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/23 "2013-10-29T18:18:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Ground pepper? It wasn’t any good when you _bought_ it, much less _now_. Let’s say that its ability to do its thing (i.e., make little black specks in food) hasn’t diminished over time. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/24 "2013-10-29T18:43:51Z")
You guys are obviously not very experienced shoppers. Just like Milk, the fresh stuff is in the back. If you would have grabbed the salt in the back of the shelf you could have found some with the expiration of March 13, 3659018. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/25 "2013-10-29T18:57:21Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > You guys are obviously not very experienced shoppers. Just like Milk, the fresh stuff is in the back. If you would have grabbed the salt in the back of the shelf you could have found some with the expiration of March 13, 3659018. _sings_ In the year 3659018, staring at the food on your plate Your tongue has nothing to do, there’s no taste, nothing but eeeew. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/26 "2013-10-29T20:53:56Z")
Salt is a preservative. It’s self-preserving! If that salt hadn’t been sold by 2028, I do agree that it should be thrown out. It’s never going to be sold at that rate. I’d be squicked out by what sorts of crud had accumulated on the _package_. The salt inside would be OK though. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/27 "2013-10-29T21:16:54Z")
I’ve got it! It’s not the salt that goes bad - it’s the container. ---
**Author:** ![NiceGuyJack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/niceguyjack/32/3069_2.png) [@NiceGuyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NiceGuyJack)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/28 "2013-10-30T01:41:53Z")
The only real problem with salt is how absorbant it is. I keep my salt in an airtight container which I use for cooking. Otherwise, it absorbs the water in the air, and in the tropical climate I live in that tends to be a problem. For my salt shaker which isn’t airtight, the salt clogs. So I tried adding some uncooked rice and that does work. I can only conclude that uncooked rice is more moisture absorbent than salt. Anyway, I’m not so impressed with salt not going bad, reasons for which so many have pointed out above, _ **honey** _ on the other hand. From what I understand honey never goes bad and you can keep that in your cubard forever. That’s amazing to me considering honey is an organic substance. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/29 "2013-10-31T05:01:08Z")
I’ve had honeycomb go moldy, and some mass-produced honey is “cut” with corn syrup. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/30 "2013-10-31T12:06:20Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > Salt is a preservative. > It’s self-preserving! Yeah, it’s like worrying about your soap getting dirty. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/31 "2013-10-31T13:38:19Z")
But if that salt has lost its flavor, it ain’t got much in its favor. You can’t have that fault and be the salt of the earth. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/32 "2013-10-31T14:17:26Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I have a can of black pepper that I bought when I first moved out on my own in 1984. Can you tell I don’t use much pepper? It’s still good, BTW. Heh. We have three pepper-mills with three different types of peppercorns. And we refill regularly. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/33 "2013-10-31T14:21:17Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > My guess is that they’re addressing the fact that over time salt can absorb odors and moisture and, while it’s still salt, some of the flavor qualities sought for cooking might be compromised. Of course if the package has yet to be opened then I’d assume you keep pushing the 15 year ‘Best by’ date back until it is. So you’re saying that if the Salt has Gained its Savour it is Good for Nothing but to be Thrown Out? > **[Matthew 5:13](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_5:13)** > > Matthew 5:13 is the thirteenth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It is part of the Sermon on the Mount, the first of a series of metaphors immediately following the Beatitudes. > The text in Koine Greek is: > Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς· ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῇ, > ἐν τίνι ἁλισθήσεται; εἰς οὐδὲν ἰσχύει ἔτι εἰ > μὴ βληθὲν ἔξω καταπατεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. > There is a variant reading in the Textus Receptus, which reads: ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/34 "2013-11-01T14:57:29Z")
Even better, [Himalaya Salt](http://www.himalasalt.com/) is now _certified GMO free_! ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/35 "2013-11-01T16:48:20Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Even better, [Himalaya Salt](http://www.himalasalt.com/) is now _certified GMO free_! But is it gluten free? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/36 "2013-11-01T16:56:55Z")
[QUOTE=Half Man Half Wit] Even better, [Himalaya Salt](http://www.himalasalt.com/) is now _certified GMO free_! [/QUOTE] and organic _compliant_ (whatever that is). Aha! I can get proper [organic salt](http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Geo-Organics-Atlantic-Sea-Salt-/40262011?sku=40262011&dnr=y) from Waitrose. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494/37 "2013-11-01T23:30:01Z")
> [@HardlySanguine](#): > > Could be that the plastics leech harmful things into the water? That’s quackery right up there with vaccinations causing autism. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-salt-s-sell-by-date-2028/672494.md?page=1)