Any advice?
anyone???
161 views 0 responses. Someone please advise so that others interested may find some guidance.
Bueller?...Bueller?...
Ferris?
Haha 161 views! Don't remember ever seeing any of my excellent topics get that many hits.
A quick google search, dude...
February 14, 1981
CONSUMER SATURDAY; STORING VITAMINS, FROM A TO K So vitamins are on sale this week. Is it worth it to buy a three year supply? Or will the vitamins go bad? How will you know if they do go bad? Is there any danger in consuming vitamins after they've lost their potency? What's the best way to store them?
If the label doesn't have special instructions, the general rules for storing vitamins are to keep them
cool and dry, away from light, in airtight containers and out of the reach of children.
Stored properly, vitamins are usually stable for four or five years, according to Glen M. Shue, a chemist/ nutritionist for the Food and Drug Administration, but he added: ''We had a bottle of vitamin D on the shelf in the lab for 10 years. We're
air-conditioned so the temperature stays cool here and when we tested it, it was still good. So it's hard to tell.
''It also depends on the kind of packaging the vitamin comes in,'' Mr. Shue said.
''Pressed tablets, like most aspirin tablets, tend to be more
porous and therefore more subject to
oxidation.
Sugar-coated or capsulated products are pretty well sealed and tend to last longer than pressed tablets under the same conditions.''
Contrary to popular belief, the refrigerator is not an ideal place for vitamins that are taken regularly. ''Say for instance you had a large bottle of pressed tablets, and you kept them in the refrigerator, if you kept
opening and closing the lid all the time, then you would get
condensation in the bottle and the vitamins wouldn't last nearly as long,'' Mr. Shue said.
Where to Store Them
Mr. Shue does, however, recomend the
refrigerator for long-term storage. ''If a person is using a mail order discount service and buying 1,000 vitamins at a time, what they should do is
take out a three-months' supply, close the lid tightly and put it in the refrigerator.
Then when they want more, they should let the storage container warm up to room temperature before taking out more tablets.'' The
heat and humidity in the bathroom make it a poor place for storing vitamins and
kitchens are not good places either, said Dr. Richard P. Penna, a spokesman for the American Pharmaceutical Association. ''There is usually a lot of
moisture and vaporized fats in the kitchen that tend to collect on the tablets or capsules. What most people choose is a
linen closet.''
If there is no expiration date on a product, Dr. Penna recomends putting the date of purchase on the bottle. ''At least that gives you a reference point,'' he said.
Dr. Steven Strauss, author of a pharmacy handbook for consumers, ''Your Prescription and You,'' advises that vitamins should be kept in their
original containers. ''If an individual gets a vitamin in an
amber-colored glass bottle with a screw top and transfers the pills or capsules into a
clear plastic container with a snap-on lid the product could be affected and deteriorate faster,'' he said.
Eating old vitamins is not dangerous. Over time vitamins simply
lose potency. But without
chemical analysis it is difficult to tell if a vitamin has lost strength. ''Generally speaking if there's any change in the color, in the physical appearance, the taste or the smell of the product, it is possible that the product isn't good any more,'' said Dr. Strauss. ''But it's also still possible that the chemical composition of the product has not been changed.'' Expiration Dates
The F.D.A. does not require that vitamins be labeled with expiration dates and storage instructions. But many manufacturers do it anyway. Actually it's to their advantage; if the vitamin has an expiration date, the manufacturer is responsible for the product's integrity only up to that date. Without one, the manufacturer is responsible for as long as the product is for sale.
Miles Laboratories, which makes Chocks, Flintstones and One-A-Day, puts expiration dates on all its products. The label also advises that the vitamins should be kept at
room temperature and away from children. The expiration date is three years from the day the tablets were manufactured. But Doloris C. Cogan, a spokesman for the company, said that the product if kept dry and tighly capped was probably good for another year.
Expiration dates and directions to keep the product at room temperature are also on the labels of all Upjohn vitamins. Upjohn makes Unicap and nine other vitamin products. Expiration dates vary from two to four years from the date of manufacture. ''Our best advice to consumers is to follow directions and live with the expiration dates,'' said Susan Ford O'Brien, a spokesman.
The are two basic kinds of vitamins, water-soluble ones (C, Bcomplex), which must be replenished frequently, and fat-soluble ones (A,D,E,K), which are stored in the body. Excessive amounts of A, D, and K can be harmful and vitamins, like all drugs, should be kept away from children.
Edited by Rags847, 09 December 2008 - 12:55 AM.
