From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishshelf lifeˈshelf life noun [singular] BBTthe length of time that a product, especially food, can be kept in a shop before it becomes too old to sell
Examples from the Corpus
shelf life• Chocolate has a shelf life of 9 months.• Normally Flake bars have a shelf life of just nine months.• The left has no interest in trying to extend its shelf life.• Generally recordings of this kind have a very short and limited shelf life.• Other features: the meals have a long shelf life and are light and compact to carry.• Code doting is used by some food manufacturers on products that have a long shelf life.• Some movies have a Zen of shelf life -- they grow on you after repeated viewings.• Unfortunately, AH-HAs have a very short shelf life.From Longman Business Dictionaryshelf lifeˈshelf life1COMMERCEthe length of time that a product, especially food, can be kept in a shop before it becomes too old to sell or useChocolate bars usually have a shelf life of just nine months.2MARKETINGthe length of time that a particular product is popular before people no longer want to buy itMany books only have a shelf life of six months. → life 