Sushi/nori/yaki paper - out of date?

According to Still Tasty (a site that looks at USDA, CDC and FDA data), nori lasts 2-4 months in the pantry and 4-6 months in the fridge. Also it says:

Store in airtight glass or plastic container or in sealed plastic bag. Refrigerate to extend shelf life.

Still, nori is completely dried. I imagine that the concern beyond that time frame is staleness, not safety.

I have nori that's years old. I would check to be sure that it is somewhat brittle, not leather-like before I used it, but for quality, not safety.

I just checked with my Chinese wife. She confirms that it doesn’t go bad but just is less tasty.

My instinct is that it's very dry, so it will last for years without going rancid or becoming inetable, if kept in a climate that's not super humid (or kept in the fridge which is very dry air).

Once opened, unless tightly sealed in a not-too-big airtight container, it goes stale and leathery quite quickly. So although I would use it out of date (and probably have) it's likely to be past its best having been open so long.

It's not going to do you any harm if it's just lost some texture though - so try it and see.

I like my nori chewy, personally. You could store it in an airtight container with a packet of silica gel (electronics equipment usually comes with one or more inside the box- and they can be regenerated in the oven), and that would probably keep it from going off but it would dry out faster.

i bought my sushi wraps, nori a few years ago, the packages were never opened, and it would be like a double packed plastic on them, as they sheets are plastic wrapped and then the outside package. They have been in my cupboard and not moved.

I opened them today and they are gooey. The inside of the package feels like sticky glue, and the edges of the nori sheets are very very sticky. The sheets are moist and bouncing if you press on them, but the stickiness to them worries me. Feels like someone poured glue on them.

I think it's safe to say that Nori does have a shelf life and will go bad eventually. These don't smell, they do look green when you hold it up to the light, I am going to chuck all four packages out. I'd be happy to send u a pic if you'd like to see it.

I should add that some of the sheets are just really oily, if you touch them your fingers feel like they are oily as if you touched cooking oil. I think mine have gone bad, I've never seen nori that wasn't dry, and I think it's just deteriorating and breaking down. I also wouldn't trust that bacteria would form once the oil and stickiness started forming.