system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:How do they determine the expiration dates for new products? Do they just let it sit somewhere till it goes bad?

inspired by my moldy cheese.
gpt
Plant Engineer at a food manufacturing facility here. We know how long it takes for ingredients to become unsafe when stored under the proper conditions. These conditions are determined by microbiologists.  If a food item is made with multiple ingredients then it is the fastest expiring ingredient which becomes the expiration date of the product.