Edit : Best if used BY*
I went to Ralph’s today for this queso dip I usually get. It’s a refrigerated product kept in the dairy department. It had a Best By date of AUGUST of THIS year (don’t ask me why. I almost thought about informing a staff member but didn’t want to look stupid if it wasn’t a huge deal). The queso did not have any expiration date written on the product. I sadly just decided to not get it. I understand that Best If Used By dates are technically different from Expiration dates.. but how much different when it comes to refrigerated products? If I purchased it& waited a few days to a week or two before consumption , I wouldn’t know when it would for sure expire..
In: 70
Factors other than just time change things, so the Best Buy date is going to keep things as safe as possible—but many items can last much longer than it seems.
I keep most of our gallons of milk in a fridge in our garage—because it isn’t opened NEARLY as often, exposed to the elements, and the garage usually remains in darkness, my milk can last a month or two after it’s “Best Buy” date.
Expiration dates are for medication and infant foods.
Sell by dates inform retailers how to rotate their product so the oldest sell first. Product past the date can still be sold, and milk can even go back to be made into processed milk products (yogurt, cheese, etc). Not as common anymore unfortunately.
Best by dates tell the customer about when the product will start to change flavor noticeably. For most canned and dry foods they won’t become inedible, just unpalatable. Best to compost these.
Vox has an excellent write up on the history and nuances https://www.vox.com/22559293/food-waste-expiration-label-best-before
Edit: oh, and trust your nose. Even before any dates food can go bad for all sorts of reasons. We have evolved to detect even the slightest hint of most common food borne pathogens. If it smells bad compost it.
A lot of products are trying to move to the “best by,” dating system because a lot of foods don’t have a hard expiration date and can be safely consumed for quite a while after. Since the actual “don’t eat this anymore,” date can vary based on a wide variety of factors, our eyes and noses are still a lot better at detecting when things actually go bad. The “best by,” is a better way of saying “hey, this is still probably good for a little while longer, but still make sure you give it a sniff test before you eat/drink this.”
The main benefit is preventing people wasting food that wasn’t actually bad yet which was a big problem with the old system.
Some products will not taste good but be perfectly fine to eat. Best by date = it’s ok to eat this after the date, but we can’t guarantee it’ll taste right. Expiration Date = We think this product will no longer be safe to eat after this date.
I will say it’s weird that a product that could be unsafe to eat after some time that needed refrigeration had a best by date instead of an expiration date.
Pet food , the kibble stuff, has a best buy date ,only because it’s shelf life is close to 20 years.
Plus the extra vague “sell by” date which leaves you totally adrift as when it’s not supposed to be good anymore.
I pretty much tread them all as the date I will no longer eat it, especially meat or dairy.
Some products are either very hardy and last a very long time or are well-preserved and also last a very long time.
Such a long time that an actual expiration date cannot be estimated, and putting an expiry date will instead cause food waste rather than be perfectly fine for consumption.
These labels therefore are extremely literal.
– expiry dates tells you to not purchase or open food past the indicated date
– Best By/Until/Before dates means the food is at its best before that date, and after that, it’s still good, just not perfect. Literally – good-better-best situation
– Sell By dates are more for the retailers and typically found on perishable items like bread, dairy, and produce. This is to minimize the chance of a buyer getting off or otherwise subpar food even if it is within the typical time when such food is still edible.
I live in Poland, and we have “eat before..” and “best to eat before..”
First one means you will get sick if trying to eat it, second one means that product could be overall a little different than before that date. It could mean that it has less proteins, vitamins or other nutrients, or smell/taste/look of the product could change after the date shown, but the product is still fully edible and won’t cause you health problems.
It’s like the difference between expired cheese and expired chocolate. The latter tastes a little worse than it would before expiration, but the first would give you the night of your life clenching your toes and groaning on the toilet.
You can totally tell an employee about that. Just because it’s not a big deal when it’s in your house doesn’t mean it’s supposed to be on the store shelves.
The best by date tells you when they can guarantee the quality of the product. It doesn’t mean the product will go bad as in make you sick, it means that the maker can’t guarantee that the product with have the intended taste, texture, etc. after that date. For example, something that’s stale is usually safe to eat, but you wouldn’t want to open a brand new loaf of bread to find it was stale (which is why it’s fine to tell a store employee. You’ll be mad if you open a brand new loaf of bread and it’s stale, but you probably expect the last slice to be stale).
Only product that has a federal rules for a date is Infant Formula.
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/food-product-dating
Meat and dairy I look at the dates more than other stuff. Day goods I have had stuff 4-5 years past the date and it is still perfectly fine to eat. The flavors and texture might not be 100% but it is still ok to eat
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