Expiry of Tapes

is the Symatec Backup Exec R3 has a feature to identify tapes already not working or not over writable and inform the IT admin on this? Can someone give me details on how Symantech works on this? Do tapes have expiration dates per manufacturer? Is it recommendable to retain the use of the tapes on the expiration dates? Is it okay to use the tapes as long as it working regardless of the expiration dates? Please advice.