shelf life

shelf life

The length of time that something is viable or useful. Milk has a very short shelf life, as it tends to expire quickly. I'm hoping that this product will have a very long shelf life and be useful for years to come.
See also: life, shelf
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

shelf life

If something has a particular shelf life, it will only last for that length of time, rather than continuing forever. A large proportion of small businesses have a very short shelf life. Our aim is to build a policy that will have a shelf life of more than 30 months. Note: The shelf life of a food, drink, or medicine is the length of time it can be kept before it is too old to sell or use.
See also: life, shelf
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • on the shelf
  • break (something) on (something)
  • break on
  • it is a poor heart that never rejoices
  • it is a sad heart that never rejoices
  • rejoice
  • slip from
  • slip from (something)
  • posthaste
References in periodicals archive
What type of label declarations/ claims are permitted for shelf life, food safety and nutrient retention?
Shelf life is not to be confused with service-life defined as to quantify the average or standard life expectancy of an item or equipment while in use.
Edible coatings have been shown to improve quality of fresh produce (such as fresh-cut apples, peeled carrots, strawberry, avocado, mango, lettuce, among others), and thus providing a net increase in shelf life. Alginate and chitosan based coatings have been shown to improve the shelf life of fresh mushrooms.
According to Yao's study, PG-OS nanoparticles with [epsilon]-polylysine significantly increased the amount of time required for oxidation to ruin the oil droplets, in some cases doubling the shelf life of the model product.
I have put off sending this to COUNTRYSIDE because I'm embarrassed at not researching kerosene and its shelf life before buying so much.--Wisconsin
Broccoli has a fairly short shelf life. Once it's cut off from the plant it goes yellow fairly quickly.
Shelf Life: How An Unlikely Entrepreneur Turned $500 Into $65 Million In The Grocery Industry is the story behind the amazing life and achievements of A.
IT'S A TOUGH TIME TO BE WORKING ON IMPROVING FOOD SHELF LIFE.
Session 4 on medical applications of latex will include the following presentations: "Latex medical gloves--has quality improved over the last 20 years?" Peter Phillips, Surgical Material Testing Laboratory, U.K.; "Sterilization options and issues," John Woolston, Isotron plc, U.K.; "Estimating shelf life of medical products made from natural and synthetic rubber latex," Bill Potter, Stapleford Scientific Services, U.K.; and "Condoms--trends in safety and testing," Steffen Bodemeier, CPR Produktions--und Vertriebs GmbH, Germany.
Mocon of Minneapolis, MN has developed a unit that provides verification of beverage shelf life. The Permatran-C Model 10, which measures the carbon-dioxide transmission rate of individual plastic carbonated beverage bottles.
Olives with a claimed shelf life of up to three years can be "unacceptable" to eat long before, agricultural researchers in Greece found.
6810-00-255-0471, Calcium hypochlorite, Technical Shelf Life M (24 Months (Type I Non-Extendable)
Food Safe has developed food safety processes that kill pathogens and bacteria and also extend the shelf life for produce.
According to the DFA, milk with a longer shelf life reduces burdens on distribution centers and the return of expired products while enabling new distribution channels to be opened.
Most commercial paint is high in anti-mildew fungicides and "biocides" (added as a preservative to increase shelf life).