FDA tests let military use expired drugs

The US Food and Drug Administration's Shelf Life Extension Program meansthe US military can use medicines for years past their labeled expiry date.

To save money on regularly replacing its drug stockpile, in 1985 the US Air Force asked the FDA to test some products. Since then, the FDA has found that 90% of over 100 prescription and over-the-counter drugs tested could be used safely past their expiration date, a Pentagon spokesman told the Associated Press, adding that the dates tended to be very conservative. Products were tested by either the manufacturer or the FDA, but always with agency supervision.

In 1998, the military spent $664,000 to have drugs tested and saved $49.3 million by not buying replacements, the spokesman said. The military spends about $1.2 billion on prescription and OTC drugs a year, for military personnel, their families, retirees and others as part of its health care program.