Must know: expiry and best before dates on food products

Best before and Expiry dates

Though many people often confuse expiry dates with best before dates, these two labels connote different information.

Food labels provide a wide range of important information about foods; understanding these information is critical, relying on them in safeguarding your health. It is in this light that the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) mandates food producers and manufactures in the country to provide such Date Marking and Storage Instructions on food products.

Expiry dates convey to consumers, the last day a food product is safe to be consumed. Here, ‘last’ means ‘last’, and a consumer proceeds to eat such foods at his/her own risk. Hence, a food should never be bought, sold or consumed after the expiry date has elapsed.

Best before dates guarantee freshness of foods. An unopened, properly stored product's best before date tells a consumer how long that food will retain its flavour and nutritional value. This date does not have anything to do with the safety of the food. With some products, the taste may greatly degenerate, but product may still be safe to be consumed.

Further, a manufacturer's nutritional claims may no longer apply after a best before date has elapsed. For instance, a fruit juice may not provide as much vitamins after its best before date. Also, improper storage of food may shorten its best before date.

This clearly denotes that foods must be appropriately stored according to package instructions.

Best before dates are generally negated after food package is opened; the best before date no longer applies. Once a sealed product is exposed to air, it can be cross-contaminated.

It is highly recommended that foods with a short shelf life or short ‘fridge life span’ (such as milk) are purchased in small quantities so that they could be consumed quickly.

Generally, if there is a significant change in colour or appearance, or development of a bad odour, it becomes unsafe to consume it. In the years past, people used to often eat mouldy foods after scraping mould off the food. These days, this is ‘inappropriate’ as moulds contaminate food beyond what is visible to the naked human eye.

Another important but uncommon, is the label sell by date. This date indicates to a consumer how long a product is to be on display for sale. For example, table eggs usually have a shelf life of 28 days (from date laid to best before date). It would certainly be helpful if a consumer is aware of the sell by date before eggs are purchased. In some countries, it is by law for eggs to reach the final consumer within 21 days from the date they were laid.

Whenever in doubt concerning the freshness and/or safety of food, do not consume it.