The expiration dates on packages are 'best used by' dates. After that, it's not unsafe, but the quality is decreasing every day. I usually recommend no more than a couple of weeks past the expiration date.

Just because it doesn't smell doesn't mean it isn't spoiled. Potentially hazardous things like ground meats, eggs and milk may go bad the quickest and you may not know it. Those are things that bacteria like to live on.

Things sit on the counter too long. If it's hot food, keep it hot. If it's cold, keep it cold.

When in doubt, throw it out. I seriously stress that when people call me.

[The quality of the products, made in countries ranging from China to Swaziland and even the United States, isn't impeccable--sizes are not uniform, and the stitching is clumsy at times. Yet some consumers don't mind the price-quality trade-off.] They target the 'good enough' consumer, ... Cost is harder to control when you're bigger. The challenge comes when you hit 200 to 300 stores--that's when you lose control.

Oddly, the military world is one of great sameness. There is an orderly quality to life on an army base, and even the children of the military are brought up with that sense of order and sameness.