Food Expiration Dates – What Do They Really Mean?

This is an important topic and subject in regards to food.  Safe-handling of food is very important to the health and well being of us all.  One issue that seems confusing or unclear is the issue of what the expiration dates actually mean.

First, let me give you some background – This is a subject that Thrifty Cas and I have been debating for many years.  I believe it all started many years ago…… as a bachelor! If you are a bachelor, have been one, or know one – their food habits are anything but desirable!

I was no exception! The way I would tell if something was “safe” to eat was the sniff test. Aaahhhh the sniff test brings many an unpleasant memories. Needless to say, it was needed in my case!

After Thrifty Cas and I got married – I continued the sniff test to her complete and utter annoyance! She (rightly so) took complete offense when she would make a lovely dinner for the two of us and I was sniffing away – she did not like it.  In fact, utterly despised the fact that an annoying bachelor habit followed me into marriage.

She made me quit – quite honestly, it was a tough habit to break! But – if I wanted to eat real food and have pleasant dinner conversation staring at my lovely wife instead of worrying about the food – it had to stop.  I should have trusted her – she hasn’t fed me a rotten food item or sour glass of milk in 11 years 😉

So I stopped sniffing…… but then a new habit developed – which has thus started a debate between Thrifty Cas and I for the last several years.  It is the issue of expiration dates.  Since I could no longer rely on my nose for food goodness and safety, I relied on those dates – not the words surrounding the dates – just the dates.  If it was past, then out went the food.

For a long time – Thrifty Cas insisted that most foods were still fine after “that date!” Supposedly I was just wasting food by throwing it out too early. I would say, “but Cas, the date has passed!”

A couple of years after that, we saw a news report that essentially said what Thrifty Cas had been saying about those dates.  They claimed that most foods are still “safe” and fine to eat after the dates inked on the packages.  But the question became – what do all of the words/codes surrounding the date mean.

So, in an effort to help you be more thrifty and not wasting food, we did some research to help you decipher when to dispose of food products based on those dates.

Based on our research, here’s what we found out:

“Sell By Date”

This is a guide for the store as to how long they should keep it on the shelves to be sold.  This date takes into account the consumer purchasing it by that date and then having time to consume it at home. The sell by date is generally not an indicator of safety, but rather the sell by date is the last date that this product is at it’s highest quality.  It is safe to eat for several days after and in some cases fine for weeks after.

“Best By Date” or “Best Before Date” or “Best Used By Date”

This date purely refers to the final date of guaranteed highest quality.  It is not related to safety. Stores can even sell items past this date.  All that it refers to is that after this date the manufacturer cannot gurantee the highest quailty of freshness, taste, texture, color, or nutritional value.  These items do not need to be thrown away for quite some time as the decline in the listed factors is gradual.

“Use By Date”

This is similar to the “Best By Date” but a bit more serious in that it is the last recommended date to use this product.  It still may be safe to consume after this date, but the decline in quality, taste, freshness, texture, color is a bit faster than the “Best By Date.”

“Guaranteed Fresh Date”

This is similar to the terms “Best By” or “Use By” in that it is the last date an item is guaranteed to be at the peak of freshness and quality.  After this date, it is still consumable for a few days – but it would just be a matter of taste/texture preference at that point.  You would find this phrasing to be mostly found on baked goods.

“Pack Date”

This refers to the date that the manufacturer actually packed this product. It is used for reference for the stores to determine just how old a product is.  It is a date often found on canned goods and packaged foods. It is not an indicator of how long the food is good for – but similar to the last three date explanations as far as quality is concerned.

“Expiration Date”

This is the one to watch for in terms of safety! If a package is labeled with an “expiration date” and that date has passed – DO NOT USE IT! This is the label that says – “I am NOT safe after this date.” There is one exception that we did find to this labeling – eggs will generally have an “expiration date,” however, they may be safe to eat for up to 5 weeks after that date! Wow!

Hopefully this will help you to determine what to throw out and what is still safe so that you do not waste food. We do have a couple of recommendations in regards to this article:

1. Use common sense.  If a food item has passed one of the above dates – smell it, look at it, touch it – if something doesn’t smell, look or feel right, then do not use it.  Ha – there is my sniff test again 🙂
2. We will be covering more topics on this subject as we have much more on this that we want to share with you. So keep watching for that!
3. An important method to implement in ensuring your food is always fresh is to rotate your food storage.  When you buy those boxes of cereal, place those new boxes in the back and move forward your older ones.

Please remember as we said before this article is is not intended to trump any advice that you have received from a professional in this area. When it comes to the issue of fresh foods, especially meats and dairy, there are many precautions that need to take place. Please consult official websites such as FoodSafety.gov and The U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a final word on all health and safety information. This is merely just a guide from research that we have conducted.