best before date vs expiry date

Best Before Dates Vs Expiry Dates. What's The Difference and Do They Really Matter?

How Following the Best By and Expiry Dates Could be Contributing to Food Waste

The terms “best before” and “expiry date” are not unfamiliar to most, especially in the grocery store or when you’re cleaning out your fridge. These dates were originally put in place to help consumers know when food is at its best quality, and to suggest when food was likely to be past safe consuming points. 

Still, we’ve all run into the same question at some point or another when assessing our favorite food items; “is this actually bad or is it still safe to eat?”

These date recommendations can be a great way to help guide you in safely consuming foods, but they aren’t always stringent. A lot of avoidable food waste is created as a result of this phenomenon; studies have shown that around 7% of all food waste in the U.S. is due to best before dates alone. The UN also estimates that 17% of global food production is wasted each year. 

What is the difference between “best before” and “expiry date”

In simple terms, the best before date indicates until what point a product will have its optimal freshness, taste, and nutritional value. The expiry date is a more strict date by which the product should be consumed, or discarded. Expiration dates, however, are not legally required to be put on all foods, they are only required on foods that have specific nutritional and compositional specifications such as infant formula, meal replacements, nutritional supplements, etc. 

 

In summary, expiry dates should be paid closer attention to than best before dates, but examining your food and being realistic about if it’s safe to eat or not can be done to any food, regardless of the type of date on the label. 

best before date vs expiry date

How can I tell if my food is still good, when it's past its best before date?

It completely depends on what type of food you’re examining – each category of food will have slightly different consumable windows, and different signs of having gone bad. For example, if a box of pasta is “expired”, it’s likely still safe to eat, it just may be slightly stale or dry, where a carton of milk that is a few days “expired” will likely develop a sour smell and taste.

best before date vs expiry date

When food passes its prime, there are some signs you can look for. 

 

Smell the item to see if the smell has changed or has a foul odor. If it smells off, it may have gone bad and should not be eaten. This is useful for items like milk, meats, cheeses, etc.

 

Has the item grown any mold? Mold is a pretty sure sign that food has gone bad and should be thrown away. Mold is often easily visible on produce, bread/grain products and leftovers. 

 

Does the item taste off? Even if it smelt okay, and doesn’t have any visible mold, if it has a bad taste, it could be bad. We are built with a fairly strong sense of smell and taste that help protect us from bacteria on old food, so trust your senses!

How To Minimize Food Waste

Sometimes, food does go bad before you get around to eating it – that’s inevitable, but with so much food going to waste, it’s a good idea to be conscious of your eating habits, what you’re buying, and try to avoid as much food waste as you can. 

Some great ways to do this are to meal plan, so you know what to buy, and when it will be eaten. You could also split meals and groceries with a housemate in order to make sure everything gets eaten before it goes bad. Additionally, you can make more frequent but smaller trips to the grocery store, to make sure you eat the food you buy before buying more. This allows you to always have fresher food too! 

 

Author

Abby Maxwell

Studying Honors Health Sciences at Western University, Abby is passionate about finding ways to promote and support wellness and healthy environments in her community.
She is always looking for new ways to connect with others through practices like spending time outdoors, gardening, camping, and going for hikes.
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Food Storage Tips To Minimize Waste

Some other ways to save food include freezing – if you don’t have time to finish a meal you made, or changed dinner plans for that steak you bought, pop them in the freezer to save them until you’re ready to eat them. Organize your fridge so you can see everything clearly, and know what you have. This will help items from being forgotten out of sight, and will probably also help save buying the item more than you need to.  

Growing your own food is also a great way to help with food waste! You can pick/harvest the items as you need. This is great for things like fresh spices. Even if you don’t have a huge amount of outdoor space, things like tomatoes, lettuce, and even carrots can be grown in small window boxes!

Here is a quick guide to help you safely consume some of the foods that may be harder to track their freshness.

best before date vs expiry date

Are you ready to start reducing your food waste?

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It is really important to consider and pay attention to your food, for your own health, and to ensure that nothing is unnecessarily going to waste! 

Even if you feel like the tiny items you save, or freeze instead of tossing don’t really matter, every small action helps make a huge impact!

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