You see, in Australia, the Food Standards Code states that all packages with a shelf life of less than two years must be stamped with either one of two types of date markings: a use by or best before date. This is to give consumers a general guide as to how long the food can be kept before it begins to deteriorate or become unsafe to eat. But what’s the difference between use by and best before dates, you ask? Here, we break it down.
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What is the definition of use by date?
Use by dates only appear on foods that must be eaten before a certain period of time due to the health and safety risk this would pose (e.g. food poisoning). This is especially important for goods such as milk, fish, meat products like chicken and cooked, pre-prepared meals that are chilled instead of frozen. Note: it is illegal for stores to sell a product after the use by date has passed.
What is the definition of best before date?
Best before dates mainly appear on eggs, dairy products like yoghurt, frozen, dried and canned foods. Once the best before date on the package expires, the goods are still perfectly safe for consumption, however, you may notice a difference in the quality (such as flavour and texture.)
Often, foods with a shelf-life of two years or longer won’t have a best before date. This is because it’s difficult to tell exactly how long they will keep before spoiling and often they will be consumed well before this point. Another exception is bread, which may carry a ‘baked on’ or ‘baked for’ date if it’s expected shelf life is less than a week.