What does it mean when the date on food say use before/best before/sell before then the date….?
‘Sell by’ means the product must NOT be sold after midnight on the date stated. If it is on a shelf in a shop after the ‘sell by’ date, the shop is committing an offence against Public Health & Safety. ‘Use by’ means that the product should be consumed by the date stated. That means EATEN and NOT used in something (a pie, for example) which may not be eaten for another day or two. ‘Best Before’ means that, while the manufacturers guarantee that the flavour and condition of the product will be fine UNTIL the date stated, they can’t guarantee it afterwards. A product with just a ‘Best Before’ date (they usually have a ‘Best Before’ AND a ‘Use By’ date) should, to be safe, be used within 24 hours of the date stated. As an ex-chef (I teach English now) I have to tell you that you should note the above explanations and stick to them, especially if you are preparing food for the very young, the elderly or the infirm. However, that said, all manufacturers print a date that is at least 24 hour
Hiya Adrianna :o) xx I think that it means the suggested date that you use the food by, to enjoy it at its freshest. I personally wouldn’t keep it for more than about a day or so past that date. Mind you, I have used bread that has gone past its date for toasting or making bread pudding with and that’s fine! I would be very careful though with meats, fish and dairy products that have passed their sell-by date – it may well be best to throw them away.
It means that the store can not sell it after that date. It depends on the product how long it is good for after that date. Most things are good for about 3 days but meat I would use by the next day or another option is to freeze it. I have gotten some good deals on meat the last day or two and then froze them till I was ready to use them just make sure when you unfreeze to use right a way. Good luck to you.
