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What are Timestrips? |
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Timestrips® are single-use, disposable smart-labels, which automatically monitor elapsed time, ranging from 14 days to 12 months. They monitor products in which time and temperature affect the quality and useful shelf life of the product. |
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Do Timestrips measure temperature? |
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No. Timestrips do not measure temperature. They measure the relationship between time and temperature and will not tell you whether an item has been frozen or defrosted. |
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What is shelf life? |
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Shelf life is the period of time during which a product retains its quality or the quality for which it was designed. Once the quality starts to deteriorate, the product has exceeded its shelf life. |
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What is meant by temperature abuse? |
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All products have a shelf life. The shelf life of any product is determined by the product itself and conditions under which the product is stored. Some products such as food have a natural shelf life. Other products such as paint have a shelf life designated by the manufacturer. Regardless of the product, the maximum shelf life is determined by the product remaining within a specific temperature range. If the temperature of the product goes outside that range, it will deteriorate more rapidly. As an example, lettuce that is stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of 35 - 40° F (2 - 6° C) will retain its quality for at least a week. After a week it will start to deteriorate, losing its vitamins and minerals and the leaves will start turning brown. Leave the same lettuce on the kitchen counter and it will deteriorate in less than a day. Freeze the lettuce and it will likewise deteriorate rapidly. The same is true of all food and other products. The quality and shelf life of the food or product is based upon proper storage within a range of temperatures. |
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A Timestrip will monitor the temperature abuse of any food. If a refrigerated product is left on the kitchen counter, the Timestrip will automatically speed up, thereby taking into consideration the temperature abuse of the food and letting you know when the quality of the food has started to deteriorate. |
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Are the shelf lifes for all products the same? |
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No. The length of shelf life varies from product to product. Some products have shelf lifes of minutes while others will last for years if properly stored. |
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What is meant by the "food danger zone"? |
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The "food danger zone" is the range of temperature at which bacteria will grow most rapidly. The longer a product is left in the "danger zone" the more unhealthy it will become to eat. |
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A Timestrip will monitor the temperature abuse of any food. If a refrigerated product is left on the kitchen counter, the Timestrip will automatically speed up, thereby taking into consideration the temperature abuse of the food and letting you know when it is no longer safe to eat. |
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What is the difference between "shelf life" and "expiration date"? |
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Shelf life is the period of time that the quality of a product remains as designed by the manufacture. Once the product starts deteriorating it has passed its shelf life. For food, "Shelf life" refers to food quality while "expiration date" refers to food safety. However, the expiration date is determined by the assumption that the food will be properly stored and does not take into consideration temperature abuse. Temperature abuse will shorten the useful life of a food and may make it unhealthy to eat. |
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A Timestrip will monitor the temperature abuse of any food. If a refrigerated product is left on the kitchen counter, the Timestrip will automatically speed up, thereby taking into consideration the temperature abuse of the food and letting you know when it is no longer safe to eat. Under severe abuse you will most likely see the shelf life expire before the date of expiration on the packaging. |
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Should I buy something that says "previously frozen"? |
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The best practice is never to buy something that states "previously frozen" as you do not know the circumstances under which it became defrosted. If it was defrosted while sitting outside a warehouse in the sun, you could be risking a serious foodborne illness. If you do buy something labeled as "previously frozen" make sure that you not only use it immediately, but cook the food to it's proper temperature for the proper period of time to kill all bacteria. Never refreeze any product that has been previously frozen. |
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How do I know the shelf life of a product? |
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Timestrip provides a useful guide to the shelf life of many food and non-food products on its site. |
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How quickly do bacteria grow in the "Danger Zone"? |
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A single bacterium can grow to several million overnight (8 hours) within the "Danger Zone". This amount is more than enough to make you ill. |
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What are "foodborne bacteria"? |
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Foodborne bacteria are bacteria common to food, but they are not only found in food. Our bodies carry many of these same bacteria but our immune systems keep them from making us sick. Only when these bacteria are ingested in large numbers will they overwhelm our body's immune systems and we become ill. |
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Will all foodborne bacteria make me sick? |
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No. There are two types of foodborne bacteria: spoilage bacteria and pathogenic bacteria. Spoilage bacteria are what makes food deteriorate, rot and go bad. You can see it and smell it. You probably won't eat food that has deteriorated because of its smell and looks, but if you do so, you probably won't get very sick. Pathogenic bacteria are the bad bacteria. You can't see or smell them and these are the types that cause foodborne illness. The only way to protect yourself from pathogenic bacteria is to follow safe food practices. |
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Timestrips are tools for safe food practices. Timestrips do not tell you that pathogenic bacteria are on a food, but they measure the relationship both time and temperature have had on the food. When a Timestrip indicates that a food has reached its "use by" time (by the entire capillary area changing color), you can rest assured that the food's quality will now start deteriorating and may not be safe for consumption. |
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How many foodborne bacteria will it take to make me or my family sick? |
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Whether or not you get sick, and if you do get sick, the severity of the illness depends on a variety of factors including the number of bacteria ingested, the type of bacteria ingested, the overall condition of your immune system (those pregnant, the elderly, AIDS patients, etc. have weakened immune systems) among other factors. The best policy to protect yourself is to follow safe food practices for all foods. While this will not guarantee that you will not get sick, it will greatly increase the odds in your favor. |
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Do bacteria stop growing when a food is refrigerated? |
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No. Refrigerating food only inhibits the growth of bacteria. The lower the temperature, the slower the bacteria will grow. Storing food at 0° F (-18° C) or below will stop bacteria from growing, but will not kill any bacteria bacteria already on the food. Only the proper cooking temperature will kill the bacteria. There is a limit to how long you can keep any food in the refrigerator. How long you can keep a particular food depends on the type of food, as some foods spoil faster than others. Think about the refrigerated food that you've thrown away because it had gone bad in the past. |
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Since Timestrips measure the relationship between time and temperature, they are the best indicator of when food is about to go bad. |
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Do drugs have expiration dates? |
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It is our opinion that most drugs (with certain exceptions) do not have expiration dates but may lose their potency over time. Those exceptions are nitroglycerin, insulin, tetracycline, liquid antibiotics and oil capsules. We suggest you read the information we have provided at Drug Expiration Dates. |
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How do Timestrips work? |
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Timestrip® works by capillary action, allowing a tinted liquid to migrate through a micro-porous material at a consistent rate. As the temperature increases, the rate of flow of the liquid increaes, thereby allowing the Timestrip to correlate time to temperature abuse. The nature of the liquid in the Timestrip does not allow the liquid to freeze for items stored in the freezer. |
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Is the liquid in the Timestrip safe? |
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Yes. Timestrips® are made with several different types of food oils and the tint in them is non-toxic, such as the tints used in children’s crayons. Also, the amount of liquid used is miniscule, about .1 of a cc. We would recommend however, that in the highly unlikely event that liquid did escape and get on food (Timestrips® should go on food packaging, rather than on food itself) that it should not be eaten. The reason is that even though it is made with food oils, there is no way for us to determine what foods people may be allergic to. |
