In general, the shelf-life of Herb Pharm's products ranges between three and five years. The product's dosage form (alcohol-based tincture, glycerin-based tincture, capsule, etc.) impacts a product's shelf life. Alcohol-based tinctures normally have a five-year shelf, alcohol being an excellent natural preservative. Glycerin-based extracts and capsules typically have three-year shelf-lives.
The majority of our products are imprinted with a "Best By" or "Exp" (Expiration) date on the bottom of the retail package.
On two-ounce and larger bottles of our liquid herbal extracts, and on all liquid herbal extracts manufactured prior to April, 2013, a batch number and manufacturing date are printed on or near the bottom or side edge of the label or on the bottom of the bottle. The first six numerals represent the batch number. Following the batch number is a combination of four alpha-numeric characters. For example, after the 6-digit batch number you might see "4M02." These four characters represent the manufacturing date and are interpreted as follows: the first number "4" represents the year of manufacture (2014), the letter is for the day of the week it was manufactured (Sunday = N, Monday = M, Tuesday = U, Wednesday = W, Thursday = R, Friday = F, Saturday = A), and the last two numbers, "02", are the week of the year (02 is the 2nd week of the year).
For best results, store Herb Pharm products in a cool, dry place away from heat and light.
Most liquid herbal extracts contain constituents that tend to precipitate out of the solution (separate) if they are left sitting on a shelf or in a medicine cabinet without regular shaking. This is a normal occurrence and does not affect the quality or safety of the product. You may see this precipitation as little specks or flakes floating in your extract, a coating on your dropper, or as a tiny layer of sediment on the bottom of the bottle. This may appear to be a different color than the extract. This can happen in as quickly as a couple of weeks. Please make sure to shake the bottle vigorously before use to help these plant particles get reabsorbed into the extract solution.