I’m guilty as charged. When I see something in our fridge with an expiration date that claims the product is old, I’m very leery of eating it (and sometimes even smelling it!). So when I saw an article stating that “expiration date confusion leads nine out of 10 Americans to throw away food that’s perfectly good,” it caught my eye.
This led me to do some research, and what I found was honestly new to me and pretty interesting. According to the USDA and also NSF (The Public Health and Safety Organization), the wording in front of the expiration date makes a difference.
Types of Expiration Dates
1. Use by
This wording is more about food safety than any of the others. It’s commonly found on fresh foods like dairy and meat products. You should either use or freeze items by this date and obviously not purchase any food items past this date.
2. Best before/Best if used by
This statement is more about quality than anything else. It’s simply a guideline to let you know how long the product will remain at peak quality and freshness. It is generally still safe to consume the product after that date.
3. Sell by/Packed on
These dates are there to let the store know how long to display a product for sale. It’s a good idea to purchase products on or before the “Sell by” date, but that doesn’t mean they have to be consumed by then.
So I guess I’m going to rethink the maple syrup in the fridge that says “Best by July 9th.” Before I did the research for this post, I avoided using it, but now I know better! I hope this information helps you save some money by not throwing out food that is still perfectly fine to eat.
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on a recent episode of “Last Week with John Oliver,” he covered this topic. The interesting thing is that the manufacturer chooses the date. It isn’t a regulated process. SOOOO if you are selling something and want people to buy it often, would you give it a short or long shelf life??? I figure, risk the smelling and go from there. :o)
I trust my nose to tell me when things have turned. For example, this past Sunday my kid wanted OJ and we had an open “expired” carton in the fridge date July 9. Based on that we almost dumped it, but I smelled it and there was no odd tang to indicate it had fermented or spoiled so he drank it. He was fine and said it tasted good. I’ve also been known to use dairy way after the date stamped on it as long as it smells good. Think about it–cheese and yogurt have already spoiled before we bought them! You can tell when they’re no longer useful by visible changes and odd smells. I’m proud to say we waste a minimum amount of food and we boast healthy immune systems without ever suffering foodborne illness.
I agree with Karissa. You have to trust and use your own knowledge. That’s what I do since I prepare different foods myself which we keep for a while in some cases and I need to be able to determine how long I can keep them (since there is no manufacturer’s expiration date on it). The same type of judgment goes for everything we consume, even for those items that come with expiration dates.
I am a professional biochemist in the food and beverage manufacturing industry. While there are different ways to interpret use by/expiration dates; it is also extremely important to base it on the food/beverage/item that you are referring to. Some products are perfectly fine to use days, even weeks after “the date”. However, some food items truly do become unsafe if they aren’t used within a specific timeframe once they are opened. Proper storage is also essential to food safety. It you open an item and store it incorrectly (warm vs cold) bacteria will most likely FLOURISH. While food is heavily regulated by the FDA and labels are scrutinized, the consumer still has some responsibility to follow the label and directions correctly! Also – do a quick google search on which products that are to use after “the date” and which you should never use after “the date”. One shoe doesn’t fit all! :)
I love your blog!
Hi Savannah,
Would like to seek your advice as a professional biochemist in the food and beverage manufacturing industry, I am new to the beverage industry and am finding it difficult to decide which preservative is suitable. Am currently preserving solely on sugar. I realised without preservative it is unsafe for drinking too. Please reply to ratnadevi808@gmail.com. Thank you.
The important question that no one answers is “How long AFTER OPENING a sealed item can it last?” If items are canned or jar sealed, I rarely bother with the stamped date if it has been unopened, to a certain degree. However, how long will they keep once opened?
Hi Martha. This is a really useful resource: http://www.stilltasty.com/.
I forwarded your blog post to my husband, who has a habit of pouring milk down the drain if it’s even one day past the “best before” date. I always tell him: It says “Best Before” date , NOT “Throw Away On” date! ;)
Thank you for pointing out this confusing topic. I usually avoid eating foods when it passed by the “suggested” date, even though I don’t know what’s the purpose of those labels, because I automatically think these foods are not good because it’s already expire. But now I will change my mindset after reading this. Thanks!
Food should be a life force that is ingested shortly after it is harvested, or killed.. That is why farm to table is gaining more popularity. I will continue to throw out food if I think it is too old. I notice someone wrote milk and the expiration date, when I was young there was no expiration date, but one week in your fridge it went bad, milk does not go bad anymore and there is something seriously wrong with milk not souring, bread not molding – there was a natural method of expiring food and that has done away. Ok thats my soap box
There are many applications for the calculation of the expiration date, I use it https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=info.shelflife.shelflife
Thanks. Really usefull app.