Check which date it is before you bin the food

You are holding a tin, a block of cheese or half a carton of something, and the date on it has gone by. Money is tight, and the bin feels like the safe choice. It is not the only safe choice, because the date may not mean what it looks like it means.

Before you throw food out because of its date, check which kind of date it is: a best-before date is about quality and the food may still be safe after it, and a use-by date on chilled food is the one to take seriously.

If the food is for a baby, or for someone who is pregnant, an older adult or has a weak immune system, or if it is raw meat, fish or a chilled ready-to-eat food, go by the printed date. The end of the page says why.

What the labels mean, and where two governments differ

Many people say that “best before” and “sell by” dates are about quality or the shop’s stock, not about safety, and that “use by” is the one that may relate to safety. Official guidance agrees with the first half and splits on the second.

In the United States, the Department of Agriculture’s food safety service says that, apart from infant formula, dates are not an indicator of safety and federal law does not require them. It describes a use-by date as the last date recommended for peak quality, not a safety date, except on infant formula. It adds that if the date passes while the food is at home, the food should still be safe and good if it was handled properly, until spoilage shows. The Food and Drug Administration says much the same: a “best if used by” date is about quality, and predicting when quality will drop is not an exact science.

In the United Kingdom, government guidance says the opposite about its own “use by”: use-by dates relate to safety, and best-before dates relate to quality. You can eat food up to the end of the use-by date, but not after, unless it was cooked or frozen on or before it. Best-before dates sit on frozen, dried and tinned foods, and on cheese; after the date the food is usually safe but may not be at its best.

So the same words carry different official meanings in the two countries, which is part of why labels confuse people. Where you live decides which one you are reading.

Many people also say that makers set dates cautiously, for ideal storage or to protect the company, so food is often good well past the printed date. One person says a date assumes the storage on the label, and another notes that milk left in the sun is outside any date. The US guidance adds the other half: food that was mishandled, for example left out of the fridge for more than two hours or thawed on the counter, or cross-contaminated, or handled with poor hygiene, can grow bacteria that cause illness before or after the date on the package.

Foods that keep, and how to tell

Many people say tinned food, dry grains, spices and hard cheese stay good for a long time past their printed dates when the packaging is intact. One person gives the reason: bacteria need moisture to grow, so dry food is hard for them. US food-safety guidance on tinned food is that high-acid tins, such as tomatoes and fruit, keep their best quality for about 12 to 18 months and low-acid ones, such as meat and vegetables, for two to five years. That is the quality window, not a safety deadline, and it is the window the people above are stretching.

The packaging is the check. A tin that is bulging or leaking goes in the bin, because the cause cannot be known from outside, and so does one with a dented rim. A deep dent you can lay a finger into can damage the seam, and a rust spot that wipes off with a paper towel is not a problem, but rust inside the tin is. Do not taste to find out.

A few details from individual people. One person pointed out that white rice keeps far better than brown. One person says spices lose strength over time but stay safe, and you can add more; another says spices in thin bags can become unusable after about two years. One person says nuts are a case where the date earns its place, because nuts that have gone rancid are hard to catch by smell.

Chilled food is where the date earns its place

Many people say your senses are a better guide than the printed date for most foods: if it looks and smells right, it is probably fine. For dry and tinned food in sound packaging, that fits the quality-not-safety reading above. For chilled food the official guidance adds a limit. The US guidance says spoiled food develops an off smell, flavour or texture from ordinary spoilage bacteria, and should not be eaten. It also says there are two kinds of bacteria on food: the ones that spoil it, which do not make you ill, and the ones that cause illness. The UK Food Standards Agency says the sniff test is not an appropriate way to check food with a use-by date, because the bacteria that cause food poisoning cannot be seen or smelled, and food can look and smell fine and still make you ill. So the smell test can tell you food has turned. It cannot tell you food is safe.

The same limit sits behind two warnings about meat. One person says raw chicken should be handled strictly by the safety rules, not by common sense, and one person says to bin chicken that smells off even before its date.

Milk is where people split. Some people say milk that smells fine is fine past its date, and one person says to pour it away when the date arrives; some say dairy can go off before the date. One person says that online charts claiming a week past the date did not match their own milk, which tasted terrible three days after. One person says yogurt and buttermilk are already sour, so smell tells you little about them. If you do check milk by smell, one person pours a little into a glass first rather than sniffing at the carton, since residue near the cap can mislead. The smell only tells you whether it has soured; keep it cold, and for the groups at the top of this page, go by the date.

The fridge matters as much as the date. UK government guidance says to keep chilled food in a fridge at 5°C or below, and the US agencies say 40°F or below. One person says some shops keep food too warm or sell food that thawed and was refrozen, and the date does not show that. And if you cannot eat chilled food in time, UK government guidance says freezing it on or before the use-by date stops it getting worse; once defrosted, eat it within 24 hours.

Mould

One person says mould on bread is not dangerous and that the trouble is only disgust. The US government’s guide says to throw away soft foods with mould, including bread, because the mould’s roots go deeper than you can see, and people can have allergic or breathing reactions to mould. One person warns that mould can be there before it shows; by the time it is green the whole item is affected. Hard cheese is the exception it makes: cut off at least an inch around and below the mould, keeping the knife out of the mould itself.

Using dates when you shop and when you store

Some people say to check dates in the shop, because understaffed stores leave old items on the shelf, and that taking from the back helps. Some people say that reaching to the back annoys the staff who stock it, and others that it is the only way not to get an old one; it is your call. Some people say some stores have a section of near-date food at a lower price, and that buying there avoids waste because the food often lasts past the stamped date; if it is chilled food with a use-by date, the date still stands, so cook it or freeze it that day.

At home, some people use first-in, first-out: new food goes behind the old, so the oldest is used first.

Who this page is not for

Anyone feeding a baby: infant formula is the one food whose date the US government treats as a safety date, and a baby is more at risk from food illness than an adult is.

Anyone who is pregnant, an older adult or has a weak immune system: the US health agencies say these groups are at higher risk from foods like deli meats and chilled ready-to-eat foods. For them, this page is not permission to stretch a date.

Anyone whose sense of smell or sight is not reliable. Some people say the by-your-senses approach depends on having them.

Anyone whose fridge has been off or too warm. A date assumes the food was kept cold, and if it was not, the date means nothing.

Anyone outside the US and UK. The rules differ.

If you ate something past its date and feel fine, nothing here says you did wrong; the safety lines at the top list what to watch for. The date is a note from the people who packed the food. How cold it stayed since, and how long it sat out, is not on the label.