The reason why crisps always expire on a Saturday

Weekends are made for junk food, which is especially good news for crisp fans because it means you can spend Saturdays eating up all of your packets that are due to pass their 'best before' date.

Yep, it's a new fun fact to share with all your friends: crisps are always 'best before' Saturdays.

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It's a pretty random fact, but it's true. Don't worry, though, it doesn't mean you can never eat crisps on Sundays.

Packets of crisps usually come with a good few months between production and their 'best before' date, so in that time you're free to eat them on any day of the week. But if you've had a packet sat in the back of the cupboard since Spring, you might want to check the date on it before Saturday.

So, why Saturdays specifically?

I'm sure everyone could come up with some interesting guesses to the answer. Is it because Gary Lineker's too busy enjoying his Sunday roasts to eat crisps beyond Saturdays? No, it's not that - especially not when there's a roast chicken flavour he could munch on instead.

Maybe it's because companies need Sundays to prepare all the crisps expected to be stress-eaten throughout the working week? No, it's not that either.

Instead, it's all to do with the production of those moreish, salty snacks.

Walkers itself admit that it's true its 'best before' dates always fall on Saturdays, because its production week starts on a Sunday.

In a post on its website, the company explains: "With everything made that week having the same Best Before date. So when our recommended 12 week shelf life is up, the end date will therefore land on (you guessed it) - Saturday."

The 12 week shelf life means that if you've just got yourself a packet, you've got until the start of November to finish it. I don't think that'll be too hard of a task, though.

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It's also not the end of the world if you're a couple of days over the 'best before' date, either. As the term implies, the crisps don't immediately turn hazardous after this date - it's just that they'll be freshest and generally 'best' before it.

In contrast, a 'use by' date refers to the safety of the food, rather than just the quality. You shouldn't eat food past its use-by date - even if it 'smells alright', because you might end up very sick and regretful later.

So there you have it - a fun fact for the next time you're short on conversation. Or if you're really struggling, just stuff your mouth with crisps so you're not able to talk at all.