Is Al Capone Really The Reason We Have Expiration Dates? - Tasting Table
Briefly

The accuracy of "sell by" dates has been up for debate for ages now, as there is no true way to determine when one particular product will go bad.
Capone was not shy about his agenda. He went as far as purchasing a milk processor, Meadowmoor Dairies, to help influence the Chicago City Council to implement milk expiration dates.
His intentions were pure, supposedly intended to protect children and pregnant women in particular from harmful rotten foods.
It wasn't until the wave of processed foods in the 1970s that expiration dates became mainstream, decades after Capone's death.
Read at Tasting Table
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