'Display by' and 'Sell by' These dates are instructions to the retailer to aid stock rotation. They aren't directives to the consumer, but guidelines for shops on how long the products should stay on the shelf. WRAP advises these labels are for shops, not consumers, so you can ignore them.
Sell-By Date: Refers to the last day a retailer can display a product for sale; typically a food is safe to eat for 10 days after the Sell-by Date if refrigerated properly. Use-By Date: Refers to the last day a product will maintain its optimum freshness, flavor, and texture.
Food producers and manufacturers have a legal obligation to include either a best before or use-by date on their food. Supermarkets and retailers can legally sell produce that has passed its best before date, but cannot sell food that has passed its use by date since use by is related to safety rather than quality.
You can eat food until midnight on the use-by date shown on a product, but not after, unless the food has been cooked or frozen. You will see use-by dates on food that goes off quickly, such as meat products or ready-to-eat salads.
A "Best if Used By/Before" date indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date. A "Sell-By" date tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management. It is not a safety date.
Food expiration dates don’t mean what you think - Carolyn Beans
Why is it OK to ignore food expiration dates?
Generally speaking, yes, it is safe to buy food on its expiration date. Expiration dates have more to do with the food's overall quality and texture instead of when it is safe or not safe to eat. As long as there are no signs of spoilage, you can eat it, but it might not taste as fresh as it once was.
The USDA says this date isn't exactly an expiration date—it's the date after which the chicken begins to lose its “peak quality.” So you'll have up to two days after that date to use the chicken. Beyond two days, pay attention to other sensory signs to know if the chicken has gone bad.
As long as a person correctly and safely stores their meat, they do not necessarily need to discard any products past their “best before” date. It is safe for people to consume refrigerated ground beef up to 2 days past this date. If freezing, it is advisable to eat ground beef within 4 months .
"It's safe to say 'days' but not more than a week for most refrigerated produce, months to years for canned and dry goods in the pantry, and I would say to not go past the date in the fridge for meat/fish/poultry, but they can last three months with good quality and if properly stored in the freezer," Jones says.
On those egg cartons, if an expiration date appears, it can be no more than 30 days after the pack date. "As long as they're kept properly refrigerated at 40°F or lower, fresh eggs are safe to eat four to five weeks beyond the carton's Julian date," Maloberti says.
Food labels such as “sell by,” “use by” and “best by” have long been confused for expiration dates on grocery products. But, these dates don't actually indicate product safety. In fact, manufacturers have used labels "best by" or "sell by" to estimate when their products have reached peak quality.
Rule of thumb for purchasing and storing foods is as follows: If the package says, “sell by” or if it has no date, then the product can be stored for a few days past the stamped date.
Many fresh or prepared foods are labeled with a “Sell-By” date as a guide for how long the item should be displayed for sale before quality deteriorates. Items are generally safe for consumption after this date, but may begin to lose flavor or eye appeal.
Is it legal for shops to have items on the shelf past the sell-by date?
The difference between a 'use by' date and a 'best before' date is that you would find the first one on more perishable items such as cream, yoghurt and some meat products, and it's an offence under Food Safety legislation for a food business to sell, or have in possession for sale, any food past its use by date.
After the sell-by date, chicken can typically be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days while still maintaining its freshness. It is important to note that the sell-by date is not an expiration or “use-by” date. A better indicator of food safety is how fresh the product looks and how it smells.
If a steak has a sell-by date of May 13th, the store must sell it by that time to give the purchaser ample time to use it. The steak should still be okay to eat for a few days after that date. Now, if the use-by date on that steak is May 16th, you'll need to cook or freeze it by that date.
Can you eat expired food if it hasn't been opened?
Within reason, provided the food looks and smells as you would expect, it should be safe to eat, even if the 'best-before' date has passed. Keep an eye on the 'use-by' or 'best-before' dates on the food in your cupboards.
For sell-by dates that go past at home, you can continue to store the food for a short amount of time depending on what it is. Some common products are: ground meat and poultry (1 to 2 days past the date), beef (3 to 5 days past the date), eggs (3 to 5 weeks past the date).
If it smells OK, you can eat it. If not, toss it. Most beef i eat is months past its use by date as i freeze it at purchase. But fresh minced with so much surface area its going to go off quicker so must be used at least 2 days after use by date.
The colour change in mince does not mean that the meat is old or stale. The minced meat remains safe to eat as long as it has been correctly refrigerated and consumed by the use-by date on the package. However, because of the large surface area of mince, it tends to have a shorter shelf life than other meat.
If it looks OK and smells OK but feels extra slimy, sticky or dry from freezer burn, it's time to say goodbye. “Raw chicken can have a somewhat slimy feel to it, but if it has a slimy feel after it is rinsed off and patted dried, it's no longer good,” Danielson said. Another test is to press down on the meat.
Also it tells that Raw chicken lasts in the fridge for 1–2 days, while cooked chicken lasts 3–4 days. But chicken is that flesh that if it gets stale it doesn't give much bad odour, till it becomes very very stale. So recommended that do not keep and eat chicken more than 2 days of sell by date.
If the chicken in question feels slimy, sticky or like it has a filmy layer on top, it's likely gone bad. Fresh, raw chicken has a shiny, smooth texture.
