How Shelf-Stable Are Your Supplements?

Do you sometimes wonder how long your nutritional supplements really last? When it comes to the expiration date of dietary supplements, government labeling regulations can be confusing. Since many companies do not provide a clear expiration date on their products, you may wonder what happens when your vitamins get old or whether or not they are still safe to take as they are aging.

Do vitamins really expire? 

Yes, most vitamin supplements do lose potency over time. After all, they are similar to food concentrates which will all degrade over time. The rate at which your supplements degrade depends on the form and storage methods that you use. For example, a chewable or gummy vitamin may be more susceptible to being degraded by moisture and heat than products as capsules. The nature of some vitamins also last longer than others. An unopened bottle of vitamins will typically last longer than one with a broken seal. A product made as tablets might last longer, but why would you ever want to take a product as a tablet which can have so many unwanted, unfriendly excipients such as magnesium stearate? 

Well-known factors can accelerate the rate at which your supplement loses its potency, including: 

• Hotter temperatures 
• Light exposure 
• Exposure to oxygen 

That’s why it’s a good idea to store your supplements in a cool, dry place, away from heat sources or sunlight. And please don’t store them on top of your microwave.  

If my vitamins can lose potency, why isn’t there an expiration date on my supplements? 

Unlike prescription drugs, dietary supplement companies are not required to list expiration dates on product labels. If a company does provides an expiration date (such as a “use by” or “best by” date), they are required to support that expiration date with stability research data that ensures the product will still contain the full potency of its ingredients up until the product’s expiration date.  

If my supplements have expired, can I still take them? 

In general, vitamin supplements that have expired within 1 or 2 years after the expiration date are not likely to be harmful. Rather, these vitamins may lose potency (or strength) and be slightly weaker than they were when they were manufactured. These supplements are unlikely to harm you, but they may be slightly less beneficial to your health than originally. However, if a supplement is more than 2 years past the expiration date, it may be best to discard it.  

Even if newly bought, if a supplement has a strange odor or has become damp and shows signs of mold, it’s best to avoid taking it. 

Does Quantum Nutrition Labs provide expiration dates on supplements? 

Quantum Nutrition Labs is proud to offer a full range of dietary supplements (the highest quality in the industry!) to support and maximize your health and that of your loved ones. To continue to provide best-in-class nutrition and quality beyond compare, we are pleased to announce our new undertaking: our goal is to provide expiration dates on our products by next year. These expiration dates will help allow our customers feel confident in the full potency and safety of our products.  

How do you determine the expiration date of supplements?  

QNL has partnered with a quality manufacturer where an experienced team of scientists is diligently studying each one of our products to determine a reliable, individual expiry date for each one. Their research entails placing individual products in three different stability chambers that are exposed to various external conditions (heat, light, humidity, etc.). After this robust testing procedure, the scientists can then verify that each product is able to remain stable under these conditions. This ensures that each product meets QNL’s strict standards in identity, purity, strength, composition, and lack of contaminants under a variety of environmental conditions.  

Quantum Nutrition Labs – Our Ongoing Commitment to Quality 

Our manufacturer partners with top industry leaders in botany, microbiology, and laboratory analysis to bring you honest, clean products you and your family can trust. Our raw materials are sourced from trusted suppliers all over the world who obtain the cleanest raw materials available. These materials are then rigorously screened for purity, identification, and contaminants. This intensive suite of testing meets and often exceeds federal regulatory testing guidelines and is among some of the strictest supplement screening procedures in the world. In fact, our manufacturer is one of only six companies (at the time of this writing) in the United States to be awarded the prestigious USP GMP-Certified Program Certification.  

After manufacture, our products are stored under strictly controlled conditions in a temperature-controlled warehouse, ensuring peak potency and efficiency. Lastly, our precious products are then gently delivered to your doorstep. Finally, you’ve found a dietary supplement company in which you and your family can place your trust with confidence!