Expiration Dates, Explained: Sell-By, Best-By, Use-By, and What They Mean

Expiration Dates, Explained: Sell-By, Best-By, Use-By, and What They Mean

Most food thrown away in homes is thrown away because of date labels — and most of those labels have nothing to do with safety. In the US, the dates on food packaging aren't federally regulated (except infant formula), and manufacturers set them for quality, not safety. Here's what each label actually means and how to stop wasting food that's perfectly good.

The Labels, Decoded

LabelWhat it meansIs it a safety date? Sell byTells the store how long to display the product. It's about inventory, not you.No Best by / Best beforeThe date the manufacturer expects peak quality/flavor. After it, quality declines gradually.No Use byThe last date the manufacturer recommends for peak quality. For highly perishable items (deli meats, some dairy) it's the closest thing to a real deadline.Usually no, but closest Freeze byThe date to freeze by to preserve quality — the product is then good for months longer.No

The one exception: infant formula is federally regulated and must be used by its "use by" date. For everything else, these are quality guides.

What Actually Goes Bad, and When

Safety-wise, the real rules are about perishable items and how they've been handled, not the printed date:

• Refrigerated leftovers: 3-4 days, regardless of original date.
• Raw poultry and ground meat: 1-2 days in the fridge, or freeze it.
• Raw steaks, chops, roasts: 3-5 days.
• Eggs: 4-5 weeks past pack date, refrigerated.
• Milk: usually 5-7 days past the sell-by date if kept cold; the smell test is reliable.
• Yogurt: 1-2 weeks past the date — the liquid on top is normal whey, not spoilage.
• Hard cheese: weeks past the date; mold on hard cheese can be cut off (cut an inch around and below the spot).
• Soft cheese, deli meat, smoked fish: treat dates as real deadlines — these support the pathogens that cause listeria.

The Smell-See-Taste Test

For most foods, your senses are the real expiration date:

1. Smell it. Sour, fermented, or "off" smells are real signals.
2. Look at it. Slimy texture, discoloration, or mold growth — and note that mold on some foods (soft cheese, bread) means the whole item goes; mold on hard cheese or firm produce can be cut away.
3. Taste a tiny bit. If it smells and looks fine, a small taste settles it. Stale (not spoiled) food is safe but may be bland — repurpose it with stronger seasoning.

The "When in Doubt" Rules

• High-risk foods (deli meat, soft cheese, smoked fish, cooked rice, cut melon, sprouts) — follow the shorter timelines, not your nose alone.
• Dry goods (pasta, rice, flour, canned food, spices) — these are safe years past a date; they just lose quality. Rancid oil or stale spices won't hurt you but won't taste good.
• If a can is bulging, leaking, or hisses violently when opened — that's botulism risk territory; throw it out.
• When you freeze something before its date, write the date on it — frozen food is safe indefinitely, but quality degrades over months.

Why This Matters

The USDA estimates that Americans throw away roughly 30-40% of the food supply, and date-label confusion is a major driver. Knowing that "best by" is a quality suggestion, not a safety deadline, is one of the simplest ways to cut food waste — and save money — without any risk.