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Food safety experts say a best-by date generally indicates when a product may lose freshness, not when it automatically becomes unsafe. Shelf-stable foods may remain usable afterward if stored properly and packaging is intact, but infant formula and foods showing spoilage require extra caution.
A Good Housekeeping report featuring food safety and nutrition experts says a best-by date is generally about freshness, not an automatic deadline for safe consumption, while a sell-by date is intended to guide retailers’ stock rotation. The distinction matters for households deciding whether to keep food or discard it, amid an estimated 120 billion pounds of food wasted annually in the United States.
Food safety and policy expert Darin Detwiler describes a sell-by date as a retail stock-rotation instruction. A best-by date, by contrast, indicates when a product may begin to lose freshness. The report distinguishes both from use-by or freeze-by dates, which it says indicate a food’s safety date under the legislation it describes. The supplied report does not detail how those rules vary by product or jurisdiction.
Shelf-stable foods such as canned goods, bottled items, jerky, rice and flour are generally described as likely to remain safe after a best-by date, provided they have been stored appropriately and show no signs of damage or spoilage. Good Housekeeping Chief Food Director Kate Merker advises avoiding cans that are dented, rusty or bulging. She also cautions that safety and quality are different: taste and texture may decline as food gets farther past its date, particularly for frozen foods kept for a long time.
Nutrition Director Stefani Sassos, a registered dietitian, recommends checking packaging and looking for mold, unusual odors, discoloration, off flavors or changed texture. She says improper storage or handling can speed spoilage. Sassos identifies infant formula as a product whose date should not be ignored and advises close attention to meat, poultry and dairy, including signs such as a bad odor or slimy texture.
Date Labels Shape Household Waste
Confusion about date labels can lead people to throw away food that may still be usable. The report cites an estimate that the United States wastes nearly 120 billion pounds of food each year and a ReFED study attributing up to 7% of U.S. food waste to confusion over packaging labels. Those figures provide a reason to understand what a label means, but they do not establish that every product is safe after its printed date.
For consumers, the practical distinction is between quality and safety. A best-by date alone may not settle whether food is safe, while damaged packaging, poor storage or signs of spoilage can change the decision. The report’s advice is not to rely on a date label alone—or on a smell test alone—but to use the label alongside product-specific caution, storage history and visible condition.
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Retail Dates Versus Quality Dates
The report says California recently became the first state to ban sell-by dates on most food packaging, with the stated aim of reducing food waste. It adds that other states have introduced bills or similar policy initiatives to simplify date labeling. The supplied material does not give the law’s effective date, its precise scope or the status of those other proposals.
Detwiler’s explanation helps clarify why a sell-by date can be misread: it is directed at retailers rather than intended as a consumer safety cutoff. A best-by date signals expected freshness, while the report says use-by and freeze-by dates relate to safety. Because food types and storage conditions differ, the experts’ general guidance does not replace specific handling instructions or food-safety guidance for higher-risk products.
““It’s most important to use common sense and check for signs of spoilage.””
— Stefani Sassos, Good Housekeeping nutrition director and registered dietitian
Storage and Product Risks Vary
The report provides broad guidance, not a product-by-product determination of how long food remains safe after a printed date. Storage temperature, handling, whether packaging has been opened and the particular food can all affect spoilage, but the supplied material does not give specific time limits or temperatures. It also does not explain the precise legal meaning of every label across different foods and jurisdictions.
Appearance, smell and texture can reveal spoilage, but the report does not claim that these checks can rule out every food safety hazard. When a product is damaged, has signs of spoilage, or falls into a higher-caution category such as infant formula, the experts advise caution rather than trying to avoid waste at all costs.
Check Labels, Packaging and Storage
For now, consumers can use the experts’ distinctions when deciding what to do: identify whether the package says sell-by, best-by or use-by; check the food and its packaging; and consider how it has been stored. For shelf-stable foods, intact packaging and the absence of spoilage signs matter, while infant formula and meat, poultry and dairy warrant closer attention.
The report notes ongoing efforts in other states to simplify date labels, but it does not identify a next legislative milestone or a timetable. Until labeling rules or consumer guidance change, the advice presented is to treat dates as meaningful information, not to confuse a freshness date with a universal safety guarantee, and to discard food when there are credible signs it has spoiled.
Key Questions
Does a best-by date mean food becomes unsafe that day?
Not necessarily. The experts quoted in the report say a best-by date generally refers to freshness; food may lose quality after it, but the date alone does not establish that it is unsafe.
What does a sell-by date mean?
Detwiler says it is a stock-rotation date for retailers, rather than a direct instruction that consumers must discard the food that day.
Which foods may be usable past a best-by date?
The report says shelf-stable items such as canned goods, bottled products, jerky, rice and flour are typically safe after a best-by date when stored appropriately and when their packaging is intact. Quality may still decline.
What signs mean I should discard food?
Experts advise watching for mold, unusual odors, discoloration, off flavors or changed texture. Avoid canned food if the can is dented, rusty or bulging. The report says improper storage can make food spoil faster.
Are any products exceptions to the general advice?
Sassos says not to ignore the date on infant formula. She also advises paying close attention to meat, poultry and dairy and checking for signs of spoilage.
Source: goodhousekeeping.com
