Except for infant formula, food companies are not required by law to date packaged food. You will see many different phrases used for product dating – Sell By, Best If Used By, Expires On, or just a date or a series of numbers. All these systems are either voluntary or a local ordinance. Most help supermarkets with shelving the freshest items. A good example are brand name breads that are often sent to day-old or outlet stores after their use by date. They are still sellable, edible, fresh to use, and cheaper to purchase. The FDA is urging the food industry to make Best If Used By as the standard for dating to show shoppers how long a product will retain its best flavor and quality.
Can you eat a food after its date expires? In almost all
cases, yes. Canned and shelf-stable items can most certainly be used after
their Best By date as long as the package is intact. Frozen items can be held
for a couple more months without a problem. Refrigerated items may only have a
week or a few days past their expiration date. The most confusion is created by
Sell By. Consumers often discard food, like milk, that passes the sell by date.
What they do not realize is that this date provides a buffer between
point-of-sale and use. For milk it is usually 7 days. Sell By dates are
freshness guides for the supermarket or food companies. Many items with this
type of dating are often reclaimed by soup kitchens and pantries as valuable
food items for menu planning.
