# Disclaimer **Last updated: 2 November 2026** DoTheyGoBad explains food spoilage and shelf life from a food-science and industrial-processing perspective. This page sets out the limits of that explanation, so there is no ambiguity about what the Site does and does not tell you. --- ## 1. Educational purpose only Everything on the Site is educational. Articles, tables, calculators and guides explain **mechanisms** — why lipids oxidise, how water activity suppresses microbial growth, how a modified atmosphere changes the composition of the gas inside a pack. Explaining a mechanism is not the same as assessing your product. The Site does not: - test, sample or analyse any product; - certify that a food is safe, compliant or shelf-stable; - design a shelf-life study for a specific product; - replace a food safety professional, a laboratory result or a regulator. ## 2. Not professional, medical or legal advice Nothing here is professional advice of any kind — food safety, medical, nutritional, legal or regulatory. If you are deciding whether food is safe to eat, sell, import or distribute, the sources that govern that decision are: - the **product label** and the manufacturer's stated storage conditions; - the **competent authority** in the market where the food is sold — for example FDA (United States), EFSA and the national competent authorities (European Union), FSA (United Kingdom), or your local food safety agency; - the **applicable regulation or standard** — Codex Alimentarius, national labelling rules, or a private scheme such as BRCGS or FSSC 22000 where a customer requires it; - your own **analytical data** and validated shelf-life study. Where the Site mentions a regulatory limit or a standard, the current published text of that regulation or standard governs — not our summary of it. ## 3. No safety determination DoTheyGoBad will never tell you that a specific item of food is safe or unsafe. Spoilage and pathogen growth depend on the actual product: formulation, pH, water activity, salt and preservative levels, process severity, packaging barrier, headspace oxygen, storage temperature history, and how the pack has been handled since manufacture. Two products with the same name can behave differently. A general explanation of *why* a category spoils cannot establish the condition of the food in front of you. If there is any doubt about whether food is safe — visible mould, off-odours, damaged packaging, a broken cold chain, or a missed temperature excursion — discard it and take advice from your local authority. ## 4. Regulatory differences Date marking, permitted preservatives, shelf-life definitions and labelling rules differ by jurisdiction and are revised regularly. References to bodies such as the FDA, EFSA, Codex Alimentarius or national agencies are context, not a compliance determination for your market. A limit that applies in one country may not apply in another, and a practice that is permitted in one may be prohibited in the next. ## 5. Research, citations and accuracy We cite published literature and official standards where a claim is contestable, and we link to the source so you can check it. DOI links are given where they exist. Citations are not a guarantee of correctness: literature is superseded, standards are revised, and summaries compress nuance. If a cited source conflicts with what an article says, the source wins — and we would like to know. ## 6. Calculators and tools The Site includes tools such as the NRV calculator and the water-safety risk calculator. They compute from the inputs you supply, using published reference values. They are educational estimates. They do not measure your product, cannot account for every variable in a real process, and must not be the sole basis for a safety, labelling or compliance decision. ## 7. Advertising, sponsorship and affiliate links The Site is free to read and funded by advertising — currently through **Google AdSense**. - Ads are selected automatically by Google. We do not choose them, and an ad appearing beside an article is **not** an endorsement of the advertised product or service. - Advertising has no influence on editorial conclusions. No advertiser has reviewed, approved or been shown an article before publication. - If affiliate links are added in the future, individual articles will say so at the point of the link, and commission will never determine whether a product is recommended. - We do not control third-party sites reached through ads or article links, and we are not responsible for their content, accuracy or practices. ## 8. External links Links to other sites are provided so you can reach a primary source or a standard. Following them takes you to a site we do not operate and cannot control. ## 9. Limitation of liability By using the Site you accept that you are responsible for how you apply what you read. To the fullest extent permitted by law, DoTheyGoBad is not liable for loss, injury, recall cost, regulatory action or other damage arising from reliance on the Site's content. Nothing in this disclaimer excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded. ## 10. Contact Corrections, clarifications and questions about this disclaimer: **martin@dinweys.com**. If you think an article is wrong, tell us which claim and which source — we will review it and correct the page if needed. See also: [Terms of Use](terms-of-use.md) · [Privacy Policy](privacy-policy.md) · [Editorial Principles](../editorial-principles.md)