• Al Capone and Milk

    From Ed P@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 15:48:32
    Seems that Al was involved with other businesses, not just booze.

    Popular lore suggests Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone was responsible
    for introducing expiration dates on milk bottles in the 1930s after a
    family member got sick from tainted dairy. While not verified as strict history, Capone allegedly pushed for this, and potentially used his, or
    his brother Ralph "Bottles" Capone's, influence to stamp dates on
    products from their own dairy companies.

    Key Details of the Legend
    The Cause: It is believed that a member of the Capone family (often
    cited as a niece or child) became ill from drinking spoiled milk,
    prompting a demand for freshness assurance.

    The Motive: Beyond altruism, the move was likely business-oriented.
    Capone reportedly controlled dairy processing plants (like Meadowmoor
    Dairies) and, through his influence, sought to dominate the Chicago milk market, using date labels to build consumer trust in his product.
    The Reality: While the story is iconic, it is not 100% verified as hard
    fact. However, it is well-documented that the Capone family had a
    significant, intimidating presence in the Chicago dairy industry during
    the 1930s.

    Evolution of Milk Dating
    1930s: The alleged start of voluntary or locally mandated dating in Chicago. 1970s: Expiration dates became more common as packaged food production grew.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.6
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Unknown@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 22:04:06

    Ed P <esp@snet.n> posted:

    Seems that Al was involved with other businesses, not just booze.

    Popular lore suggests Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone was responsible
    for introducing expiration dates on milk bottles in the 1930s after a
    family member got sick from tainted dairy. While not verified as strict history, Capone allegedly pushed for this, and potentially used his, or
    his brother Ralph "Bottles" Capone's, influence to stamp dates on
    products from their own dairy companies.

    1970s: Expiration dates became more common as packaged food production grew.


    Which is just a suggestion to protect themselves. Milk will last far
    longer than that expiration date if kept _cold_ and in the back of
    the refrigerator.

    ~

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.6
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Cindy Hamilton@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 22:46:46
    On 2026-01-28, ItsJoanNotJoAnn webtv.net <user4742@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:

    Ed P <esp@snet.n> posted:

    Seems that Al was involved with other businesses, not just booze.

    Popular lore suggests Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone was responsible
    for introducing expiration dates on milk bottles in the 1930s after a
    family member got sick from tainted dairy. While not verified as strict
    history, Capone allegedly pushed for this, and potentially used his, or
    his brother Ralph "Bottles" Capone's, influence to stamp dates on
    products from their own dairy companies.

    1970s: Expiration dates became more common as packaged food production grew.


    Which is just a suggestion to protect themselves. Milk will last far
    longer than that expiration date if kept _cold_ and in the back of
    the refrigerator.

    Not always. On January 16 I bought three gallons of milk whose
    expiration date was January 26. Kept cold and in the back of the
    fridge. By January 19 I was dumping them down the drain.
    Obviously mishandled somewhere along the line. It surprised me
    that it happened in the winter.

    --
    Cindy Hamilton

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.6
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Unknown@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, January 29, 2026 00:37:01

    Cindy Hamilton <chamilton5280@invalid.com> posted:

    On 2026-01-28, ItsJoanNotJoAnn webtv.net <user4742@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:

    Ed P <esp@snet.n> posted:

    Seems that Al was involved with other businesses, not just booze.

    Popular lore suggests Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone was responsible >> for introducing expiration dates on milk bottles in the 1930s after a
    family member got sick from tainted dairy. While not verified as strict >> history, Capone allegedly pushed for this, and potentially used his, or >> his brother Ralph "Bottles" Capone's, influence to stamp dates on
    products from their own dairy companies.

    1970s: Expiration dates became more common as packaged food production grew.


    Which is just a suggestion to protect themselves. Milk will last far longer than that expiration date if kept _cold_ and in the back of
    the refrigerator.

    Not always. On January 16 I bought three gallons of milk whose
    expiration date was January 26. Kept cold and in the back of the
    fridge. By January 19 I was dumping them down the drain.
    Obviously mishandled somewhere along the line. It surprised me
    that it happened in the winter.

    Oh wow, that's a shame and that's a lot of milk to be dumping. Hmmmmm,
    I wonder if at the plant it set out far too long or maybe the fresh milk
    was mixed with large batch of soon to spoil old milk and they thought
    they could salvage it?

    ~

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.6
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Bryan Simmons@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 30, 2026 12:22:24
    On 1/28/2026 6:37 PM, ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

    Cindy Hamilton <chamilton5280@invalid.com> posted:

    On 2026-01-28, ItsJoanNotJoAnn webtv.net <user4742@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:

    Ed P <esp@snet.n> posted:

    Seems that Al was involved with other businesses, not just booze.

    Popular lore suggests Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone was responsible >>>> for introducing expiration dates on milk bottles in the 1930s after a
    family member got sick from tainted dairy. While not verified as strict >>>> history, Capone allegedly pushed for this, and potentially used his, or >>>> his brother Ralph "Bottles" Capone's, influence to stamp dates on
    products from their own dairy companies.

    1970s: Expiration dates became more common as packaged food production grew.


    Which is just a suggestion to protect themselves. Milk will last far
    longer than that expiration date if kept _cold_ and in the back of
    the refrigerator.

    Remember the Tootsie Pop Owl? Around here, milk never gets anywhere near
    that best by date. I will say this though, Menard's used to mark down
    their milk the day before the date, and about half the jugs of it were
    less than perfectly fresh. I quit buying it.

    Not always. On January 16 I bought three gallons of milk whose
    expiration date was January 26. Kept cold and in the back of the
    fridge. By January 19 I was dumping them down the drain.
    Obviously mishandled somewhere along the line. It surprised me
    that it happened in the winter.

    Oh wow, that's a shame and that's a lot of milk to be dumping. Hmmmmm,
    I wonder if at the plant it set out far too long or maybe the fresh milk
    was mixed with large batch of soon to spoil old milk and they thought
    they could salvage it?

    Dairy plants are run too well for that. The mishandling must have
    happened after it left the plant. Here's how to tell what plant
    processed the milk. https://www.whereismymilkfrom.com/ The brand name
    milk in St. Louis is Prairie Farms. It comes from https://www.whereismymilkfrom.com/dairy/east-side-jersey-dairy-inc/
    All of the store brands do as well, except Trader Joe's. The milk at
    Target, ALDI, Schnucks, WalMart, etc. are all identical to the name
    brand except for the label. The milk at ALDI gets delivered in the
    morning by a Prairie Farms truck.


    --
    --Bryan https://www.instagram.com/bryangsimmons/

    For your safety and protection, this sig. has been thoroughly
    tested on laboratory animals.

    "Most of the food described here is nauseating.
    We're just too courteous to say so."
    -- Cindy Hamilton

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Unknown@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 30, 2026 23:55:59

    Bryan Simmons <bryangsimmons@gmail.com> posted:

    Not always. On January 16 I bought three gallons of milk whose
    expiration date was January 26. Kept cold and in the back of the
    fridge. By January 19 I was dumping them down the drain.
    Obviously mishandled somewhere along the line. It surprised me
    that it happened in the winter.

    Oh wow, that's a shame and that's a lot of milk to be dumping. Hmmmmm,
    I wonder if at the plant it set out far too long or maybe the fresh milk was mixed with large batch of soon to spoil old milk and they thought
    they could salvage it?

    Dairy plants are run too well for that. The mishandling must have
    happened after it left the plant. Here's how to tell what plant
    processed the milk. https://www.whereismymilkfrom.com/ The brand name
    milk in St. Louis is Prairie Farms. It comes from https://www.whereismymilkfrom.com/dairy/east-side-jersey-dairy-inc/
    All of the store brands do as well, except Trader Joe's. The milk at
    Target, ALDI, Schnucks, WalMart, etc. are all identical to the name
    brand except for the label. The milk at ALDI gets delivered in the
    morning by a Prairie Farms truck.


    Milk here comes from a dairy plant 30 miles southeast of Nashville.
    Butter comes from a dairy plant in southern Kentucky. Publix milk
    is from Cortland, NY but surely there's dairy plants nearer than
    that they'd ship from.

    ~

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)