Two labels look alike on packaging and mean very different things. Mixing them up is one of the biggest sources of food waste at home.
Use by: the safety date
It reads “use by”. You find it on highly perishable products: fresh meat and fish, sliced deli meats, chilled ready meals.
After this date, the product can be a health risk. Don’t eat it, even if it looks fine.
Best before: the quality date
It reads “best before”. You find it on dry, canned and frozen products, and on many long-life foods: pasta, rice, biscuits, tins, coffee.
Past this date the product isn’t dangerous: it may have lost some taste, texture or colour. Properly stored, in intact packaging, it is usually still fine to eat. Your nose, eyes and taste decide.
The right reflex
| Label | What it means | After the date |
|---|---|---|
| Use by | Safety | Don’t eat it any more |
| Best before | Quality | Look, smell, taste |
What about opened or cooked food?
Packaging dates apply to sealed, properly stored products. Once opened, a product follows a new rule: the time given on the pack after opening (“eat within 3 days of opening”) replaces the original date.
When in doubt, don't take the risk: this matters especially for vulnerable people (pregnant women, young children, older people or those with a weakened immune system). This advice is general and doesn't replace the recommendations of health authorities.
How Mealventory helps
Mealventory shows in colour what is nearing its date, and lets you enter the real date from the packaging. It suggests recipes that start with what needs eating first.