Had a relative who worked for a pharmaceutical company who said the use by dates are about two or three years before there would be any problem. Some drugs do lose potency and could even be toxic if kept too long, though. I don't use dairy much beyond use-by dates, as it could get rancid. Also mold starts to form - yuck. Soda, who knows? I agree with suggestions. Cook with it. Try some new recipes! I recently made beer bread using some beer that someone left at our house Christmas 2011 and it was just fine. I don't like beer, so it was the only way to not waste it. Then there is the question of old wine. Beaujolais does become vinegar eventually, so I recently strained an old bottle of it into a vinegar bottle. Works quite well in cooking - crock pot meat, for example.