Is It Okay To Eat 50 Year Old Cough Drops?
Wednesday, June 13th, 2007
So after my post about the disappearance of Pine Bros. cough drops, Freckles discovered there was an eBay auction offering up one unopened box of the honey-flavored variety. The rub being that they were from a production run in the 1950s.
I placed a bid of $6, won the auction, and my 50-year-old box of cough drops is now en route. So the question is: what is the shelf life on an item like this and are they safe to eat? If yes, I will eat them. If no, I will just keep them as memorabilia.
Any scientists out there in the audience? What happens to honey and glycerin over the course of 50 years? I have actually heard that honey is the only food in the world that never spoils.
Mobile Version
I just ran over the history of you and Pine Brothers Cough Drops with a co-worker. She is the corporate archivist at our firm, so she enjoys an affinity with history. Especially the history of branding and packaging, so, not only did she recall Pine Bros but also shared in your affection for them.
Her advice: “I would just keep them around to sniff from time to time.”
Might be the safest bet. Remind you of the flavor you once enjoyed. Even if they didn’t “go bad”, they certainly will not taste like the last box you enjoyed. Eating this old box would be like ending a romantic relationship on a good note, then getting back together just long enough to hate one another.
Man, you are too funny. :)
Your gut-instincts should tell you not to eat 50-year-old-ebay-bought pills. Send me your mailing address and i’ll send you a slightly newer Pine Bros. cough drops I’ve had sitting in my medicine cabinet :)
Haha, you rock Mike.
Did you know that you hold the #5 rank on google when searching for “addicted to cough drops”? Well Done!
Here is a myspace group you may be interested in.
Looking at my box of Cold-Eeze, it clearly states “This product has no expiration date”. I don’t know how that equates to Pine Brothers Cough Drops, but I would consider them comparable products.
You only live once. Eat one, save the rest.
Mike,
If you do decide to eat the aforementioned cough drops please post a story (maybe a rip off of “Steve, don’t eat it”) right before you consume them — that way we know whether or not to call an ambulance.
May be good to get one of those “Help, i’ve fallen and cant get up” beeper necklaces they have.
Definitely agree with web, you need to think about the poor paramedics arriving at your penthouse.
You should design an explanatory tattoo for your chest. Something like, “I ate a box of 50-year-old Pine Bros. Cough Drops.” That way when they rip open your shirt to shock you back into a heartbeat, they have some clue as to what is going on.
If you survive, you can add a second line to the tattoo, “…and lived!” Then you would be the King of Cough Drop Addiction.
Good grief, man! People snort crank, smoke crack, and shoot smack and live to tell about it. Eat one, for Pete’s sake!
Gotta go with the wisdom of the Beerzie Boy on this one.
Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!
Eat it, man! Gee, archaelogists have eaten food that’s thousands of years old.
If you eat it, we’ll know. If you live, then you will have been The Man Who Ate A Fifty-Year Old Cough Drop And Lived. If you don’t, then you will have helped educate humanity. :)
well kiss it on day one
lick it on day two
nibble it on day three
suck a lot harder and longer on day four
just consume the thing on day five when you can’t control yourself any more …
oh wait you wanted to know about a cough drop, I lost my train of thought
I doubt that one will kill you. I agree with the first poster, you could well be disappointed. Also keep in mind the differences in production standards from then til now. There is a reason our life expectancies are increasing … no?
Do you want to finally forget about Pine Brothers?
Here, you’ll never turn back: Grethers Pastilles
Proof that you CAN buy anything on eBay. Mike, thanks for making me laugh, you are a keeper : )
I was once working on a project to develop a new range of gum sweets. A packet of the new gum characters arrived at the studio and were quickly devoured by everyone. Couple of hours later, a phone from the client call saying don’t eat them as they are only for visual assessment and would cause stomach upset if eaten, and they were the only mockups in existence.
I think you need to wait to open the box, get in touch with the folks at Letterman or Conan, tell them the story, and eat one on live, late night TV for us all to see.
Or, you could try it out on your dog or something first.
Surprising you should ask, I work at CANTEST, and we’ve just recently tested the toxicity/endurance levels of glycerol in some cough-suppressing syrups. Glycerol should not change form if it is not exposed to air, much like a sugar if you keep it sealed in a container. Depending on the moisture levels and the conditions of the drops when you receive them, they may actually be edible. If the main composition of the cough drops is mainly honey and glycerol, I would think that there’s not much chemical difference from the 50 year-old box to one you would buy at the drug store today.
10 years ago (while researching my fine art dessertation) I read about archaeologists finding a big jar of honey in an Egyptian tomb. Eventually, after having eaten most of the honey, they discovered at the bottom of the container the perfectly preserved body of a dead child.
True or rumour? don’t know but memorable.
I say eat the Pine Bros. What the worst that can happen, a sore throat?
Guy: Nice, I will email you about the newer box. You are the man.
Josh: Yep, I’m going to try both the Weight Watchers Fruities and the Pastilles you mentioned. I’ve heard great things…
Eric: Wow, that is great information. “May be edible” is all I had to hear. Depending on their appearance when I remove them from the box, I’m thinking I’m definitely going to have at least one.
Bulbboy: Oh. My. God. See, this is why I run a blog. Stories of dead children preserved in honey jars. I will think twice the next time I eat honey directly from a large opaque container… and believe me, that’s like every day these days.
Would you still eat honey from a dead kid jar if you knew the contents and you had a really sweet tooth and nobody was watching? Kind of like dropping your your bon bon and wiping it taken to an extreme.
=P
Try at least one of them :-)
I’ve heard that twinkies don’t spoil either.
I know. That wasn’t funny. But it made me smile to put it here.
Yup, that just about wraps this topic up.
What the hell; eat one for the historic sensation. If you die, it’s as a hero and if you don’t, you’ll have another story to tell on parties!
OOh my gosh!! I am laughing so hard!!! I have a sore throat and did a google search for Pine bros…
The red ones were my absolute favorite. I remember wearing my Wonder Woman underoos eating a whole box of Pine Bros in one sitting.. LOL
Used to love Pine Bros.!
Only thing like it today are Grether’s Pastilles, which are actually even better than Pine Bros. Black Current with sugar are the best.
OMG this is hilarious. Awaiting review of 50-year old cough drop :lol:
Too funny!!! I’m gonna go with a no, they’re not ok to eat.
I love that I found someone as desperate as I. When I walked into a drug store it was the first thing that I sought out - several boxes of pine bros., but I only ate the cherry flavored. I was not a fan of the honey. Why did they stop making them and why won’t someone else START making them? I still look at the cough drop section and get sad to not see them on the shelf and I am 54 years old………pretty pathetic huh? I agree with Beerzi Boy - but just start out with one!
Have you eaten one yet?
UPDATE! The box arrived. Unfortunately, the cough drops appear to be coated in a thin whitish film. It’s probably just crystalized honey or something, but unfortunately, I’m not taking any chances. The dream is over. Sigh.
Aw, don’t say that Mike. I’m sure at least one of the people on here urging you to take one would gladly try it for you.
Give it to Mikey, he’ll eat anything! Wait, what?
Mike,
It’s not over, contact the CANTEST guy and send him a couple. He can do an analysis.
Come on, just taste. I’ll donate to the hospital fund. :)
No really it should be fine. My parents worked for food companies years ago and what they found on money made most foods seem downright pure.
I’ll bet if it was a 50 year old twinkie, you could still eat it!
I say we should dig up the Pine Brothers’ “pine boxes” and see if they’re buried with a stash. Do you think they went to the grave with their secret recipe??
I am sitting here eating a box of Pine Bros (Original) Green Tea Drops.
The back of the box says they are distributed by IVC Industries, Inc. Freehold NJ 2000
Got the drops at a dollar store.
I am assuming that the 2000 means a year.
They are great.
50 year old Pine Bros……………eat them………..absolutely.
Hey, when you were a kid and you dropped that last piece of candy on the dirty sidewalk………..what did you do?
You might throw it away today but back then………..pick up and brush off time.
Ok, all you fellow Pine Brothers addicts. I have now tried almost all the substitutes that have been recommended here and elsewhere for our dear departed, but never fogotten, Pine Brothers cough drops, uh, I mean candy. Let’s all tell the truth!!!
There is a clear cut winner, IMHO. Everone rush to your local Weight Watchers meeting and partake of their cherry flavored fruities. Very close to the wondeful wild cherry flavor of Pine Brothers and almost the same constitency. I suspect you can make WWF’s a little harder if you unwrap them and let them sit for a while.
Anway, I guess they will have to do since it doesn’t look like our beloved cough drops are reappearing anytime soon. RIP.
Why not just keep the drops for another 50 years, and then future generations can talk on this site about whether its safe to eat 100 year old cough drops.
Resist the temptation for early rewards! just be patient!
I say eat it how bad can it be?
Maybe do a princess and the pea type trial (in your case a prince.) Put it under twenty mattresses and if you can feel it from all the way down yonder it’s do able to eat.
Probably the worst case scenario would be a Rip Van Winkle type sleep for a few days!
Up to you!
Just read your update-Re:the white film
That’s too bad oh well I guess we can all look at the bright side.
A NEWLY wrapped Mary Jane candy still probably tastes worse than those 50 year old Pine bros ever would have.
I never met a person who liked those yet they’re still around. Mystery of the candy world.
How bad is your cough?
Eating 50 year old cough drops you bought on ebay ??? Hell yes.
You only have to eat just one. You will never be bothered with a cough again. Your wife and children will inherit the rest of them.
I used to buy them at the Paradise and Marbro Theaters on the West side of Chicago and eat them six or seven at a time till the 3 or 4 boxes were empty.
When I got home my mom would take a long look at me and ask if I was ok. I’d answer “muffemuffelrnsogargan” That meant ‘I have a sore throat’.
Mom would then give me some Purtissun Cough Medicine and some homemade Honey & Lemon syrup. I haven’t coughed in over 60 years. I sure miss those cough drops. Please send me some, please, I feel like coughing again.
Mike,
I share your passion for Pine Bros. cough drops. That’s what led me to do a search for them. I had a craving for them and wondered if they still made them somewhere. I guess not, after reading your post. I was addicted to them in the early sixty’s and my mom used to tell me that they were a drug - not candy. Hah! If I were you, I would have to try one just to see if they were as good as I remembered. If they are, maybe you could get someone to manufacture them again. Why did they ever stop?
Go for it!!!!!!
I loved the Honey Pine Bros Drops and crave for them today. Mike, did you try nuking them for 5 seconds? Perhaps the white film will disappear.
OK- you are the expert but I remember - Ludens, Vicks, Smith Bros (black and red), sucrets(sp?), ceprical (sp?) and of course Pine Bros - I know there were more, what am I missing.
The next person you see that has a cough, give them a cough drop and if they happen to see the package just tell them it is a special edition. If they survive till the end of the day, buy them a 50 year old drink of brandy.
Re-sell them, then see if you make a profit, as they must be the most talked about drops in all society.
ok, now i don’t feel like such a loser for googling pine bros cough drops.. they were that good!
Send me a White filmed Pine Bros drop..
I’ll open it on video, soak it in water for a minute to remove the film, then eat it, and post it on youtube. If for some reason I don’t make it, the CSI guys will have an easy job I guess…
I held a piece of dog poop on my tongue for 10 seconds to win a swiss army knife in a dare when I was 10.. I think I can handle a cough drop.
:)
Alright…that’s it! I’ve decided to start an auction for you….if you still haven’t opened them that is….I’ll start the bidding off with a $20.00 bid
I’m so glad to hear I am not the only one craving these cough drops….I would have eaten it…although I liked the Cherry flavored the best! Please someone make them again!!! I would buy boxes and boxes of them!
I just came online looking up Pine Bros. cough drops to see if I could find them being made somewhere!! :( I am sad to hear they are not. And surprised to hear so many people remember and long for them… like I do. I have a really bad cold and was hunting around the house for something more soothing than the current run-of-the-mill cough drops. (My mouth gets sore from those fruit-flavored hard-candy type) Alas! In my camping first aid kit, I found a box of PINE BROS. HONEY COUGH DROPS!!! YIPPEE, was I excited!! They are so soothing and comforting. I’m guessing mine were about 25 years old. Did I eat them? Yer’ durned right!! (I’m enjoying one right now) They were great and I would not waste them. Then I went to the pharmacy to see if I could get more. The pharmacist from India looked at me like I had two heads when I asked for those. He never heard of them!! Small wonder!! Well, at least now I know I’m going to save the box, since it seems to be an ‘out-of-print antique!’ The box says: active ingredients: Syrup of Acacia, Glycerine, and Honey in a sugar base. Life Savers, Inc., New York, NY 10019, and it has a bar code stamp, so it can’t be too old. I didn’t know Pine Bros. was a division of Life Savers! I cannot believe they are not available for sale!! (I was able to get some Ricola and Fisherman’s Friend cough drops. They don’t compare, but are helpful.)
Ok, I finally got around to eating the cough drop…
My wife and I just had twins, so I’ve been thinking about other things than eating historic cough suppressants.
I’ve posted it on Youtube so you can see that I actually Ate It!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92HpvVfFPw8
here’s the link…
I will buy a case of Pine Bros. Glycerine Cough Drops, medicated Honey if someone can find a case
I will buy a case of pine bros too if anybody can find a case for me..please do!