What to do when your muesli is expired!

The best before date, or BBD for short, has always been a major issue in people’s minds. What happens if the date is exceeded? Will I get sick from expired food? Many people ask themselves these questions every day. But what about muesli and other breakfast products? And even more precisely: what is it like with our breakfast products?

Quality before quantity!

“A product is only as good as the ingredients that go into it. That’s why we invest a lot of time and effort into the selection and control of high-quality raw materials from organic farming and gentle processing. This way we can guarantee the highest possible quality of our products.”

Eva Knörnschild, Head of Quality Management at Verival

As you can already see from this quote, quality is our top priority. Therefore, we have various control mechanisms. We work according to the four-eyes principle and attach great importance to both internal and external controls. In addition to seamless incoming goods inspections and laboratory tests by our in-house quality team, we also use external independent laboratories.

Thus, we guarantee that our products arrive fresh and of high quality at your home. No matter whether it’s porridge, muesli or crunchy – we use the same strict quality requirements in all our products. Eva from the quality management department explains our exact process regarding minimum shelf life in more detail:

How is the best before date of muesli determined?

This is done by carrying out certain storage tests. To do this, several packs of muesli are stored in the refrigerator, at room temperature and in an incubator at 30°C. The rule of thumb applies: With a temperature increase of 10°C, the “aging” of the muesli takes place 3 times as fast. So if you want to test whether a muesli lasts 12 months, you only need 4 months with an incubator (30°C). Parallel to this storage test, tastings and microbiological tests are constantly happening. If there are no noticeable changes after 4 months, it can be expected that even after 12 months under normal conditions no changes will be noticeable.

How is the best before date of a muesli checked?

Retained samples are kept of every product produced. At the end of the BBD, so-called BBD tastings are carried out. Three bowls of muesli are prepared for this. A fresh product is placed in two bowls and an expired muesli in the third bowl. During the tasting, the aim is to determine differences in appearance, consistency and taste. If significant differences between the products are detected by the sensory team, the shelf life for this product must be shortened in the future.

Can I still eat my muesli after the BBD expires?

As Eva has already mentioned, muesli has a long shelf life. If I forget about the muesli in the cupboard (which of course can’t happen with ours – much too tasty!), how will I know that it is no longer edible?

The principle for situations like this is: How long ago was the best before date? The best-before date is a guideline in itself. Although we are not allowed to sell you products that have passed their BBD, this does not mean that they automatically belong in the trash.

How can I tell if my muesli is no longer edible?

Here are three basic questions you should ask yourself:

If you can answer the first two questions with yes, then you can test the muesli by tasking it. If you do not notice any differences in taste, the muesli is still edible. As you can see, you should definitely rely on your senses! Muesli without additives often has a long shelf life after the best before date – but if it, for example, contains oil (as in our crunchies), hazelnuts or pieces of fruit, you should be more careful.

In general, it is important to pay attention to correct storage and to follow the instructions on the package. Muesli and flakes in general should be stored in a cool and dry place. It is best to obtain storage containers that can be closed airtight. It is similar with porridge, here too, you should pay attention to the correct storage.

I have too much muesli at home – how can I use it creatively?

Our tip for you: simply eat more muesli! All right, this may not always work. But if you have a little too much at home, the following tips might work: Our breakfast products, for example, can be used as topping for yoghurt, but they are also great for baking and cooking, so we are constantly trying to create delicious recipes from all our products.

For example, you can use our porridge to make delicious breakfast muffins, pancakes or waffles, or our mueslis to make delicious muesli bars or other nutritious snacks for in-between. Try these Porridge Energy Balls:

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Porridge balls

Delicious porridge balls from one of our Verival Porridges.

Prep Time15 mins

Total Time15 mins

Servings: 15 balls

Calories: 29kcal

Ingredients

• 60 g Bircher Porridge (or any other Verival Porridge)
• 1 grated carrot
• coconut chips
• 3 minced dates
• some water or milk

Instructions

• Mix all ingredients well.
• Then form small balls from the dough.

Nutrition

Calories: 29kcal

We take great care to waste food as little as possible and generally avoid rubbish as much as possible. We live this philosophy in our company, but also as individuals. We try to use food waste creatively and deliciously as much as possible – this helps the environment and ourselves.

Dominik Wendl

Content Creator

Ich interessiere mich schon seit Jahren für Sport und Ernährung und setze mich intensiv mit den Themen auseinander. Auf diesem Blog teile ich gerne mein Wissen rund um das Thema gesunde Ernährung und die richtige Ernährung beim Sport.

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