Best-before date and use-by date

In short: The best-before date tells you until when a food at least keeps its properties when stored correctly. The use-by date applies to highly perishable goods and is a safety limit.

In more detail: After the best-before date a product is not automatically bad. You can check by appearance, smell and taste. After the use-by date (“use by”), you should no longer eat minced meat, raw fish or poultry.

In Depth

• Best-before date: “best before”. The retailer may also sell after expiry if it checks the quality.
• Use-by date: for minced meat, fresh poultry, smoked salmon. After it, do not sell or eat.
• Storage notes: “After opening keep cool and consume within 3 days” applies to opened packs.
• Food waste: About a third of the food in households is thrown away, much of it still edible.
• Freezing: You can freeze many foods; label date and contents.

See also: Reading the nutrition table, Food allergens (the 14 main allergens)