Shelf-life of various items and ingredients

[CiderJoel]

Shelf-life, or best before dates, for various items used in brewing or wine-making would be interesting perhaps.

For example, I learned recently that Iodophor has a shelf life:
* A whole bottle is good for "about a year"
* A new solution (1 drop per liter or 1/4 gallon) is good for about 24 hours

But does this mean it is completely dead, or just "wounded" -- could I say double the dose of my iodaphor at the 1 year mark, or does it turn into a pumpkin on day 366? How long as it been sitting in the wine supply place before I even bought it...?

This also caused me to ask.... how about my yeast nutrient? My yeast? Yeast energizer? Pectic enzyme? How about the whole wine kit I bought 4 years ago? Potassium Sorbate? K-Meta? Etc.

Lots of folks assume that anything chemical or packaged lasts forever, but that's simply not true, and storage conditions may have a great effect.

Well... let'r rip!

CiderJoel

 

[CiderJoel]

The following is about Iodophor and passing reference to chlorine-based items:
http://brewersconnection.com/classroom/Iodophor.htm

Once Iodophor has been diluted to a working solution, that there are a number of things that work to degrade the products' efficacy. Chlorine and protein load, as well as both sunlight and exposure to the atmosphere all play major roles in the degredration. Iodophor is very stable in it's undiluted form. As for the "shelf life" of B-T-F Iodophor, Dr. Landman, General Manager of "National Chemicals Inc." of Winona, MN. and is a Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology, relates a story about one of their distributors who had found a case of the product that had been forgotten for 5 years and returned it to the manufacturer. NCI tested the 5-year-old product and found that it still met standards. This was, of course, undiluted iodophor that had been well packaged and protected from exposure to light, air etc. In either case, it is far more stable than chlorine, which begins to degrade immediately upon being manufactured. The color of the iodophor solution is a rough guide to it's effectiveness as a sanitizer. If the solution still has its amber color, it is most likely still active. It is recommended that a fresh solution should be mixed when the color fades or after 12 hours.

 

[CiderJoel]

Visited a large wine brewing and supplies place today and bought lots of stuff... Various acids, nutrients, sir ate, Camden etc... I asked about shelf life.... Proprietor suggested these various items should be used within six months (or else what exactly)....
Comments anyone?

 

[CiderJoel]

Visited a large wine brewing and supplies place today and bought lots of stuff... Various acids, nutrients, sir ate, Camden etc... I asked about shelf life.... Proprietor suggested these various items should be used within six months (or else what exactly)....
Comments anyone?