das Verfallsdatum, Verfallsdaten

Meaning (English):
„Verfallsdatum“ means expiration date / use-by date—the date after which a product (especially food or medicine) is considered no longer safe or intended to be used.

Parts (word components)

• Verfall = decay, deterioration, lapse, expiry
• Datum = date
  So Verfallsdatum literally means “date of expiry/decay.”

Usage notes

• Commonly used for foods, medicines, cosmetics, and other goods that can spoil or lose effectiveness.
• In everyday German, it is often used loosely for many products; legally on food packaging, the more specific terms „Mindesthaltbarkeitsdatum (MHD)“ (best-before date) and „Verbrauchsdatum“ (use-by date) are also important.

German synonyms (depending on context)

• Ablaufdatum (very common; “expiry date”)
• Gültigkeitsdatum (valid-until date; more general, e.g., documents)
• Haltbarkeitsdatum (durability date; often used informally)
• Mindesthaltbarkeitsdatum (MHD) (best-before date; for many foods)
• Verbrauchsdatum (use-by date; for highly perishable foods)

German antonyms (if applicable)

No perfect single-word antonym is standard, but possible opposites by meaning include:

• Herstellungsdatum (manufacturing date)
• Produktionsdatum (production date)
• Abfülldatum (bottling/filling date)