What Do Food Date Labels Actually Mean? Let’s Get Into It.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service: “There are no uniform or universally accepted descriptions used on food labels for open dating in the United States.”

In other words? Those dates on your food don’t all mean the same thing and most are not safety dates. The USDA estimates that 30% of the food supply is lost or wasted at the retail and consumer levels. One major contributor? Confusion over date labels.

Common Date Labels Explained:

Here’s what those phrases really mean:

• “Best if Used By/Before”
  Indicates when a product will be at its best flavor or quality.
  ➡️ Not a purchase date. Not a safety date.
• “Sell-By”
  Tells the store how long to display the product for sale (for inventory management).
  ➡️ Not a safety date.
• “Use-By”
  The last date recommended for peak quality.
  ➡️ Not a safety date - except for infant formula, where safety standards do apply.

Too often, perfectly good food gets tossed simply because the date has passed even when it’s still safe to eat. Instead of relying only on the date, use your judgement and check for signs of spoilage like a bad smell, off flavor, unusual texture, and/or visual mold. 

A quick check can save you money and keep good food out of the landfill. That’s something we can all get behind!

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