If you’ve found some old glucosamine tablets and you’re wondering if they expire then this article is for you.
In order to answer the question it’s important to understand the legislation surrounding dates on products. Depending on the product, it may have a “best before” date, a “use-by” date or no date at all.
Supplements like glucosamine typically have a “best before” date on them. This is typically stamped onto the bottle or box during the manufacturing process. That said, the ink has been known to rub off on occasion, depending on how the tub has been transported and stored.
Most typically you’ll find this date on the lid, the shoulder of the bottle or on the base. You may see the words “Best Before” or “Best Before End” or just the acronym “BBE”. If in doubt check the label which will tell you where to look for this data (“For best before date see base” for example).
Now it is important to understand what a Best Before date really means. It is considered the date to which the beneficial nutrients are guaranteed to work, and provide the strength advertised on the bottle.
Taking another supplement as an example, if you bought a tub of 500mg vitamin C tablets then you’d be guaranteed to get at least 500mg right up to the end date. Indeed, vitamin C breaks down quite quickly in supplement form, so recently-manufactured tablets are likely to contain considerably more than the advertised dose. Over time this level will drop, but should never be less than the 500mg if consumed before the best before date.
Best before dates, therefore, tell you how long the strength is guaranteed for. It says nothing about the safety of the product. Properly stored, most supplements are perfectly safe to consume after this date, but the strength of the contents can no longer be guaranteed.
With this frame of reference we can start to answer the question of whether glucosamine tablets expire.
The simple answer is that glucosamine tablets do expire, but this expiry date has more to do with the effectiveness of the supplement rather than the safety.
In general it is inadvisable to consume supplements like glucosamine after their best before date simply because you can’t be certain of their effectiveness. The difference is likely to be minimal for the first few weeks after “expiry” but in general it’s best to only consume glucosamine tablets that are within their date.
One final tip before we bring this article to a close. If you’re buying glucosamine tablets in a shop then take a good look at not just the best before date but also the dosage and number of tablets. In this way you can easily discern whether there is enough time to finish the pot before the end date.
As a rough example, a pot containing 180 tablets, with a dosage of one per day, is consequently likely to last you six months. So simply verify there is at least six months left before the end date. Most reputable supplement suppliers will monitor this on your behalf, but it’s all worth checking in case the one that slipped through the net on a busy day is the one you happen to pick up.