Expiration dates on salt and water are funny and all, but expiration dates exist because capitalists would disguise spoiled food to maximize profit. And it takes an enforcement regime to make them care about their customer’s health. Wasted food is still preferable to wasted life.

These regulations didn’t fall out of a coconut tree.

While that’s true, most products have a “best by” date instead of an expiration. I worked for a company that bought items past that date from major retailers and resold it at.a discount.