Manufacture Date on Juice?

[Taariq404]

Hi,

I couldn't seem to find a thread on this. Has anyone ever wondered why none of the Juice makers put a Manufacture date on the labels? I personally prefer fresher juice, even if I have to let it steep for a week.

I know some juices are even better once steeped, but you get that nice throat hit on the fresher juice.

Anyone else who also thinks so too?

 

[Spydro]

A lot of the US premade's I've bought over the years are dated, or at least have a "best if used by" date.

 

[stevie g]

Your answer is because you would be paying a lot more for your juices if our fledgling industry started using manufacturing equipment.

 

[Taariq404]

Your answer is because you would be paying a lot more for your juices if our fledgling industry started using manufacturing equipment.

Oh you know what I meant. A date of production, mixed on date.

 

[Taariq404]

Your answer is because you would be paying a lot more for your juices if our fledgling industry started using manufacturing equipment.

And I think some guys actually do, Kieran from VC.

 

[Lingogrey]

Hi,

I couldn't seem to find a thread on this. Has anyone ever wondered why none of the Juice makers put a Manufacture date on the labels? I personally prefer fresher juice, even if I have to let it steep for a week.

I know some juices are even better once steeped, but you get that nice throat hit on the fresher juice.

Anyone else who also thinks so too?

Oh you know what I meant. A date of production, mixed on date.

I obviously can't speak on behalf of any juice makers, but my best guess would be that adding a date of production to the labels, either by hand or by some sort of a stamp manually, would add a lot of unnecessary time and labor to the already time consuming process of labeling and bottling. Thus, whether a mixologist would be using manufacturing equipment or be writing / stamping the date manually on each bottle (as I think the majority would have to do), the cost of their time / capital investment in the equipment would have to be passed on to the consumer.

Besides, I think that in many cases the demand for some juices are such that the juice makers can barely keep up with production as is.

With you preferring 'fresh' juice, a possible solution could be to request juice makers who sell not only through vendors, but also through their own websites, to notify you when a fresh batch has been made, so that you could order at that point in time (and some, such as Vapour Mountain {to the best of my knowledge} produce juices to order in any case).

 

[Taariq404]

I obviously can't speak on behalf of any juice makers, but my best guess would be that adding a date of production to the labels, either by hand or by some sort of a stamp manually, would add a lot of unnecessary time and labor to the already time consuming process of labeling and bottling. Thus, whether a mixologist would be using manufacturing equipment or be writing / stamping the date manually on each bottle (as I think the majority would have to do), the cost of their time / capital investment in the equipment would have to be passed on to the consumer.

Besides, I think that in many cases the demand for some juices are such that the juice makers can barely keep up with production as is.

With you preferring 'fresh' juice, a possible solution could be to request juice makers who sell not only through vendors, but also through their own websites, to notify you when a fresh batch has been made, so that you could order at that point in time (and some, such as Vapour Mountain {to the best of my knowledge} produce juices to order in any case).

I get what you're saying. But it would also add value to their product, no? How hard could adding 05/16 to the label really be?
Aa

The only reason I asked is because I bought some juice, and in like a two week period, it became nearly unvapable (yea, that's not a word), I actually ended up giving it away (to a twisp owner). Some juice is amazing when steeped for long, others not so much. I also don't consider juice sitting in a shelf as steeping when it's exposed to light.

Usually, when juice that has been out of stock is now in stock, it's obviously fresh, and I've been enjoying those juices more. Luckily one juice maker sells juice to me directly, so I ask before I order.

Stores would probably not bother keeping track of their stock, can't really blame them, and some might lie just to move stock.

 

[SAVaper]

I must say, I would also like to see a date.

 

[stevie g]

Oh you know what I meant. A date of production, mixed on date.

you don't understand. How to get the date onto the bottle?. Buy your own industrial label printer, pay for extra labels or get your bottles stamped?. You can't just hit a bottle with a stamp because of the shape and the fact it is glass.

Unless the maker jacks up his price and hires someone to mark each bottle. It's not like we make 1 or 2 bottles you are talking In the hundreds if not thousands

 

[Taariq404]

you don't understand. How to get the date onto the bottle?. Buy your own industrial label printer, pay for extra labels or get your bottles stamped?. You can't just hit a bottle with a stamp because of the shape and the fact it is glass.

Unless the maker jacks up his price and hires someone to mark each bottle. It's not like we make 1 or 2 bottles you are talking In the hundreds if not thousands

I'm sorry, didn't know that you're from the tobacco industry. (Anything to jack the prices up).

Well you could just stamp the label? It is value adding to the customer. The labels must be pre-ordered in bulk? Why not add future batch dates? Anyway, I don't see why not. I would even pay that extra few bucks knowing that it's fresh. I can understand that it might be a little costly, but hopefully some of the big fish will implement it sometime. Also, the profit margin on juice is relatively high, no? No vaper complains about that.

 

[Rob Fisher]

Funny this should be mentioned... the sample I got today to test has the date on it!

 

[Taariq404]

Funny this should be mentioned... the sample I got today to test has the date on it!
View attachment 54192

Lol, awesome!

 

[DaveH]

A lot of the US premade's I've bought over the years are dated, or at least have a "best if used by" date.

Hi @Spydro What sort of time span do they give? One year, two years?
I think it is a good idea to suggest a "Best before Date"
Dave

 

[Silver]

I like the idea of a date of sorts on a label
Even if its a month and year

I write the date on my Vapour Mountain bottles when they arrive

 

[Rob Fisher]

I like the idea of a date of sorts on a label
Even if its a month and year

I write the date on my Vapour Mountain bottles when they arrive

I would write the dates on my Vapour Mountain XXX bottles when a litre of it arrives at the vape cave but by the time I find a marker pen the juice is finished!

 

[Silver]

I would write the dates on my Vapour Mountain XXX bottles when a litre of it arrives at the vape cave but by the time I find a marker pen the juice is finished!

True @Rob Fisher
And to be fair, my orders from VM over the past year have generally been juices I vape over about 3 months and ones I know I like. So they dont sit on the shelf for long. But other juices I buy here and there have a habit of sitting for quite a while so a piece of clear tape with a date on it helps when i go looking a few months later

 

[zadiac]

I intend to have a "Mixed: xx/xx/xxxx Bottled: xx/xx/xxxx" on mine so customers can see when it was made and when it was bottled. That way they'll know how long it steeped as well.

 

[kyle_redbull]

I think it's a great idea and can't be so hard to incorporate into the label making process. Gives consumers piece of mind too. Would you buy milk without a best before date no same thing. Please juice makers put mixed date and bottled date or something on those lines. Will also start showing which vendors are flogging old expired for lack of better words juice at the same price as fresh juice.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[Spydro]

Hi @Spydro What sort of time span do they give? One year, two years?
I think it is a good idea to suggest a "Best before Date"
Dave

It varies over a fairly wide range... mat be a CAY thing and it is worthless information IMO (that is based on years of chemistry in school and college, some practical use of it in my working lifetime, three plus years vaping/DIY tenure for whatever they are worth). The birth date is far closer to a usable date, but that's getting ahead of "my" take on all of this...

E-liquids, whether bought premade or done DIY come with excess baggage attached. They have assumptions attached to them, those of the mixologist that made them, those of the stocking vendor and those of the end user of them. So even a birth date can have issues. Why? Because the viability of these liquids is at the mercy of many factors controlled or not by the mixologist, the vendor and the end user. The quality of the ingredients used and how sterile the lab conditions were are no brainers... you do it right or you don't. What the ingredients are is a factor as some remain viable for a much longer term than others if stored right. Packaging comes in lots of forms made from many different materials, some that are the best choices, some OK for shorter term, and some that are not good choices at all. The mixologist can not control what will happen after they leave the lab. So if they do what's right can just hope for the best and maybe have to deal with complaints that is not their fault. If all of that is covered acceptably, oxidation and storage are the sheep in wolves clothing that ruins e-liquid. Nic and additives oxidize and degrade over time, and that can not be entirely stopped in a normal household environment. If you DIY it's far better to long term store with no nicotine (the most active ingredient) and only add the nic fresh when you are ready to use a stored bottle of e-liquid. A still vacuum sealed glass bottle filled to the cap with no dead space in it, zero nicotine and only other additives that remain viable better, stored in a dry, dark cold environment will last the longest. At least two years, but I believe considerably longer personally. I have liquids up to 2.5 years old that were made, packaged and stored right that are still viable in my cold storage.

Methodology varies as well. Only store sizes that you will use up within a reasonable time period once they are opened (and more rapid oxidation starts); or use several sizes of bottles where as two of the smaller are used up they can be sterilized and refilled again from one 2X larger, and the 2X larger by even larger as they are emptied; or use a storage bottle with a solution trap you have to use a needle/syringe to extract from. A few innovative labs now dwell into adding X to liquids that do or do not have nicotine in them for long term storage. It slows the oxidation process without imparting flavor to the juice. While approved food grade safe in most of its forms in the US, UK, OZ, NZ, etc, it still has it's own set of rules and risks. Why I did not include what it is here (so the unwary DIYer that does not have the knowledge/lab to use it doesn't). Even those labs only set 2 years in the right storage conditions as the viability date. Possibly another CYA thing as they have no control over how the end users will store/use them. IOW, don't automatically blame the mixologist for your mistakes. Many of them do it right, have the knowledge the lab, etc. Unfortunately many of the smaller B&M's do not. In my city alone there are around 100+ B&M's. I don't shop at them, so only know of one I would ever buy premades from, and that because I personally know the mixologist/owner and know he does it all right.

All just FWIW based on my somewhat informed (or maybe misguided to some folks) opinion... YMMV.

 

[DaveH]

Thanks @Spydro These sort of things are good to know.
Dave