The best-before date has always been a big issue in people's minds. What happens if the date is exceeded? Will I get sick from expired food?
Many people ask themselves these questions every day. But what about muesli and other breakfast products? And more specifically: what about our breakfast products?
Discover Verival organic breakfast
Quality before quantity!
‘A product is only as good as the ingredients it contains. 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 gentle further processing. This enables us to guarantee the highest possible quality of our products.’
Eva Stock, Head of Quality Management at Verival
As you can see from this quote, quality is our top priority. We have various control mechanisms to ensure that this is the case. We work according to the four-eyes principle and therefore place a high value on both internal and external control. In addition to seamless incoming goods inspections and laboratory tests by our in-house quality team, we also use external independent laboratories.
This is how we guarantee that our products are fresh and of high quality when they reach your home. Whether it's porridge, muesli, Bircher muesli or granola crunchy, we apply the same strict quality standards to all our products. Eva from our quality management team explains our exact process for determining the best-before date:
How do you determine the best-before date of muesli?
To do this, certain storage tests are carried out. For this purpose, several muesli packs are stored in the refrigerator, at room temperature and in an incubator at 30°C.
The rule of thumb is: if the temperature increases by 10°C, the ‘ageing’ of the muesli takes place three times as fast. So if you want to test whether a muesli will keep for 12 months, you only need an incubator (30°C) for 4 months.
In parallel with this storage test, there are ongoing tastings and microbiological tests. If there are no recognisable changes after 4 months, it can be assumed that no changes will be recognisable after 12 months under normal conditions.
How is the shelf life of a muesli tested?
Retained samples are kept of every product produced. So-called shelf life tastings are carried out at the end of the shelf life. Three bowls of muesli are prepared for this.
Two bowls are filled with the fresh product and the third bowl with the muesli that has passed its sell-by date. The aim of the tasting is to determine differences in appearance, consistency and taste.
If the sensory team detects significant deviations between the products, the sell-by date for this product must be shortened in the future.
Can I still eat my muesli after the best-before date has expired?
As already mentioned by Eva, muesli can be kept for a long time. But if I do forget about the muesli in the cupboard (which of course can't happen with ours – it's much too tasty!), how do I recognise that it is no longer edible?
The basic rule for food at home is: How long ago was the best-before date? The best-before date is an estimate.
Although we are not allowed to sell you products that have passed their best-before date, that doesn't mean that they automatically belong in the trash.
How do I know if my cereal is bad?
There are three basic questions you should ask yourself:
- Does it look okay?
- Does it smell normal?
- Does it taste the same as always?
If you can answer yes to the first two questions, you can take on the taste test. If you don't notice any differences in taste, the muesli is still perfectly edible.
As you can see, you should definitely rely on your senses! Muesli without additives often has a long shelf life after the best-before date. However, if it contains oil (as in our Crunchy range), hazelnuts or fruit pieces, for example, you should exercise more caution.
In general, it is important to ensure that you store your muesli correctly and follow the instructions on the packaging. Muesli and other types of flakes should be stored in a cool, dry place. It's best to get storage containers that can be sealed airtight. The same applies to porridge, which should also be stored correctly.
I have too much muesli at home – how can I use it creatively?
Our tip for you is: simply eat more muesli! OK, that might not always work. But if you do have a bit too much at home, the following tips might help:
You can use our breakfast products as a topping for your yoghurt, for example, but they are also great for baking and cooking. We are constantly trying to create delicious recipes using all our products.
For example, you can make delicious breakfast muffins, pancakes or waffles with our porridge, or delicious muesli bars or other nutritious snacks for in between with our muesli. Why not try these porridge energy balls:
We take great care to waste as little food as possible and to avoid waste in general as much as we can. We live this philosophy in our company, but also as individuals. We try to use leftover food creatively and deliciously as much as possible – this helps the environment and ourselves.
