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Expired Drugs, Animal Feed and Surgical Equipment


It is prudent and good scientific practice not to use expired drugs, supplies and feed for your animal care, just as we would not want those used on us. It is also against federal regulations to use such materials on animals. Most drugs and supplies come with an expiry date (highlighted) on them. Pay attention to those dates. Rotate stock so that the oldest supplies are used first. Check your supplies frequently to make sure they are in date. Expired materials should be clearly identified, separated from in date material and discarded appropriately.

Feed manufacturers usually stamp a mill date on the feed bags. This represents the date the feed was manufactured. Feed should be stored off the shelf on pallets, racks or carts; in a cool dry environment. The storage area should be free of pests or vermin. Open bags of feed should be stored in vermin proof containers.

Most dry laboratory animal diets are good for 6-12 months from the mill date. Guinea pig diets are good for 3-6 months from the mill date depending on process used to stabilize vitamin D content and the storage conditions. Purified and chemically defined diets have a much shorter shelf life, usually less than 6 months; these diets should be stored at 4C (39F) or lower.

Sterile surgery packs have variable shelf life depending on the how they are packed and stored. The shelf life may range from a few weeks to several months. A sterilization date should be indicated on such packs. Opened bags of saline, fluids and reconstituted drugs should have an expiry date clearly indicated. Most drugs dispensed by the VMC Pharmacist from the original container into a secondary container should be used within one week of dispensation.

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Last Updated July 7th, 2009