The best before date, or "best before date" for short, has always been a significant topic in people's opinions. What if the date has passed? Will I get sick from expired food?
Many people ask themselves these questions on a daily basis. But what about cereals and other breakfast products? And more precisely: What is the situation with our breakfast products?
Quality over quantity!
“A product is only as good as the ingredients that go into it. That is why we invest a lot of time and effort in the selection and control of high-quality raw materials from organic farming and in careful further processing. This enables us to guarantee the highest possible quality of our products."
Eva Knörnschild, Head of Quality Management at Verival
As you can already see from this quote, quality is our top priority. Therefore, we have various control mechanisms to ensure that. We work according to the four-eyes principle and accordingly place great emphasis on both internal and external control. In addition to complete incoming goods inspections and laboratory tests conducted by our in-house quality team, we also engage external independent laboratories.
This guarantees that our products arrive at your home fresh and of high quality. Whether porridge , muesli, bircher muesli or granola crunchy – we apply the same strict quality requirements to all our products. Eva from Quality Management explains our exact process regarding the minimum shelf life in more detail:
How is the best before date of a cereal determined?
For this purpose, specific storage tests are carried out. In these tests, several cereal packs are stored in the refrigerator, at room temperature, and in an incubator at 30°C.
The following rule of thumb applies: if the temperature increases by 10°C, the "aging" of the cereal occurs three times as quickly. Therefore, if you want to test whether a cereal lasts 12 months, you only need 4 months in an incubator (30°C).
In parallel with this storage test, tastings and microbiological tests are conducted continuously. If no discernible changes are observed after 4 months, it can be expected that no changes will be noticeable even after 12 months under normal conditions.
How is the best before date of a cereal checked?
Retained samples of each product produced are kept. At the end of the best before date, so-called best before date tastings are conducted. Three bowls of cereal are prepared for this purpose.
A fresh product is added to two bowls, and an expired cereal is added to the third bowl. The tasting aims to determine differences in appearance, consistency, and taste.
If the sensor team detects significant deviations between the products, the best before date for this product must be shortened in the future.
Can I still eat my cereal after the expiry of the best before date?
As already mentioned by Eva, muesli has a long shelf life. If I forget the cereal in the cupboard (which of course can't happen with ours – far too tasty!), how do I recognize that it is no longer edible?
The principle for the home is as follows: How long has it been since the best before date? The best before date is a guideline in itself.
While we are not allowed to sell you products that exceed the best before date, that doesn't mean they automatically belong in the trash.
How do I know if my cereal is bad?
Here are three basic questions to ask yourself:
- Does it look safe?
- Does it smell normal?
- Does it taste the same as always?
If you can answer yes to the first two questions, you can proceed with the taste test. If you don't notice any differences in taste, the muesli is still quite edible.
As you can see, you should definitely rely on your senses! For cereals without additives, it is often the case that they can be stored for a long time after the best before date – but if, for example, oil (as with our crunchies), hazelnuts, or fruit pieces are contained, more caution should be exercised.
In general, it is important to pay attention to proper storage and to follow the instructions on the package. Cereals and flakes in general should be stored cool and dry. The best option is to use storage containers that can be sealed airtight. The same applies to porridge; you should also pay attention to proper storage.
I have too much cereal at home – how can I use it creatively?
Our tip for you is: just eat more cereal! All right, that might not always be feasible. If you perhaps have a little too much at home, then the following tips might help:
For example, you can use our breakfast products as a topping for your yogurt, but they are also great for baking and cooking. This is how we continuously try to create delicious recipes from all our products.
You can make delicious breakfast muffins, pancakes, or waffles from our porridge, tasty cereal bars, or other nutritious snacks for between meals. Try these porridge energy balls:
Sugar-free porridge balls
Ingredients
- 60g Bircher Porridge (or other Verival Porridge)
- 1 carrot grated
- Coconut chips
- 3 dates, finely chopped
- Some milk or water
Preparation
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All ingredients are mixed.
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Balls are formed from the dough.
Nutritional values
We take great care to waste as little food as possible and generally avoid waste as much as we can. We live this philosophy in our company but also as individuals. We try to use food residues as creatively and deliciously as possible – this helps the environment and yourself.
