We put a maximum 10 year expiration date on medical products. If they are sitting in our warehouse that long it means hospitals don’t want to buy the product in the first place.
Resorbable products are a bit different. Because they are meant to go away in the body they degrade over three to five years.
Common sense can be followed here. Dry foods will probably last years. Moist or wet foods like milk and meats degrade quickly.
Here’s a new term for the day: Psychrophilic bacteria. They are present in fish and grow at cold temperatures...that means refrigerated fish don’t last long.
(I learned that in packaging engineering, hadn’t heard the term before then)
Local Rite Aid has rubbing alcohol with 2-year expiration date.
But their Scotch doesn’t.
When storing foods long term, they should have less than 10% moisture. Storing high moisture or high fat foods long term is a good way to get seriously poisoned.
Here are some of the foods I store in canning jars and/or mylar bags - both with oxygen absorbers and desiccants:
*dried pasta
*dehydrated potato slices (cheap hint: buy the house brand of scalloped potatoes , toss the cheese sauce packet, and store in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers - same as the long term ones you buy online but a LOT cheaper)
*instant mashed potato flakes (no fat or flavoring added!)
*dried beans
*white rice
Low acid canned stuff lasts years longer than the “best buy” date.