The label “Best if used by” specifies a date when the product might lose quality, but doesn’t mean it isn’t safe to eat.

"Fishing nets lose quality after a couple years of use," said Liwei Ye, the paper's lead first author who is a postdoctoral fellow in Marks' laboratory.

Youngkin has called for pay hikes for teachers, but even so, his creation of the tip line has raised serious concerns that the state could lose quality educators.

“The downside of introducing widespread absentee balloting is that, once the Boards of Elections start contracting out the process of mailing, then they lose quality control and direct supervision of what goes on,” Mr. Kellner, a Democrat, said in an interview.

Foods that freeze too slowly may lose quality or spoil.