Best-before dates – helping you save money (and the planet)

When we look at many food products, they often display best-before dates and use-by dates. With many supermarkets making the move to get rid of best-before and use-by dates, we look at what these mean and whether they really matter. 

Use-by dates 

Use-by dates are used for food safety. The Food Standards Agency recommends that any food you purchase must be eaten by the use-by date. These are usually found on fresh food. For the use-by date to be accurate, the guidelines for storing the food must be followed. 

Best-before dates 

Best-before dates are used to describe when the quality of the food will be best before, but the food will still be safe to eat after that date. The types of food you might find best-before dates on are tinned, frozen, fresh, and dried foods.^[1] 

Getting rid of best-before dates 

Having the two dates has caused confusion between consumers. Many people have thrown away perfectly edible food because they have looked at the best-before date.  

This date can be misleading, as many of the foods are perfectly safe to eat after the best-before date.

Reducing food waste 

If you select food that no longer has a best-before date, you can make your own decision as to whether the food is edible or not. Testing food by eye is a great start, then other methods such as sniffing, or cutting into food will help you decide. 

Check the date! 

If the product has a use-by date, testing by eye or sniffing does not apply. The Food Standards Agency advises that fresh produce may not be safe to eat, as we cannot see or smell contaminants that may cause food poisoning. 

Check your supermarket 

Many supermarkets have joined the mission to take best-before dates off fresh foods such as fruit and vegetables. 

You might notice that some yoghurts move from a use-by date to a best-before date to help you make a judgement once the yoghurt has been opened. 

Making your money go further 

Now that supermarkets are giving you more autonomy in deciding whether food is OK to eat, you might notice your fridge and shelves stay fuller for longer. 

This is great news for keeping the cost of living down and reducing the amount of food and packaging waste. A lot of the food we throw away makes its way to landfill, where it rots and releases greenhouse gases.^[2] 

How you can help your local food outlets reduce food waste 

Install the app Too Good To Go. Buy food from local shops and restaurants that would usually end up in the bin, at a fraction of the price. 

Too Good To Go: End Food Waste on the App Store (apple.com) 

References: 

[1] Food Standards Agency. Best before and use-by dates. Available online at: Best before and use-by dates | Food Standards Agency 

[2] World Wildlife Fund. Fight climate change by preventing food waste. Available online at: Fight climate change by preventing food waste | Stories | WWF (worldwildlife.org)