Date Marking Rules Australia (Standard 1.2.5)

What Are the Date Marking Rules in Australia? Standard 1.2.5 of the Food Standards Code requires most packaged food with a shelf life of two years or less to carry either a "use-by" date, for safety, or a "best-before" date, for quality, marked legibly and permanently on the package. Food that must be consumed by a certain date for safety reasons carries a use-by date and cannot legally be sold after it; food that is simply best consumed by a date carries a best-before date. This guide explains the requirements, the format rules, and how the standard applies to food you make on your own premises. What the Standard Requires Standard 1.2.5 of the Food Standards Code, published by Food Standards Australia New Zealand , sets date-marking requirements for most packaged foods. In general, packaged food with a shelf life of two years or less must show a date mark. Food with a shelf life longer than two years does not require one, because quality change over such a long period is gradual and predictable. The purpose is twofold: to tell consumers when a food is no longer safe (use-by) and to indicate when quality begins to decline (best-before). Getting the right marker on the right product is a legal requirement for anyone manufacturing or packing food for sale. Use-By vs Best-Before: The Key Difference The two markers mean different things and carry different legal weight. Use-by: A safety date. Food must not be sold or eaten after its use-by date because it may be unsafe even if it looks and smells fine. It is used on higher-risk foods such as raw meat, poultry, and ready-to-eat refrigerated foods. Best-before: A quality date. Food may still be sold and eaten after its best-before date if it remains of acceptable quality. It is used on shelf-stable foods such as canned goods, biscuits and cereals. Selling food past its use-by date is an offence; selling food past its best-before date is generally permitted provided it is still fit for sale. For a fuller explanation, read our use-by vs best-before guide . Format and Visibility Rules A date mark is useless if it cannot be read. Standard 1.2.5 requires the date to be legible, permanent (indelible) and prominently displayed on the package. The following conventions apply. State the date clearly, for example "USE BY 14 JUL 2025" or "BEST BEFORE 03 25". Day-and-month is sufficient for products with a short shelf life. Day-month-year is used for products with a longer shelf life so the year is unambiguous. Where storage conditions affect the date, include storage instructions such as "Keep refrigerated at or below 5°C". Storage instructions matter because a use-by date only holds if the food is kept as directed. A chilled ready-to-eat food left in the danger zone of 5°C to 60°C can become unsafe well before its use-by date, which is why temperature control underpins date marking. What About Food Made and Sold On the Same Premises? Food made and sold from the same premises — a deli salad sold across the counter, a sandwich made in-house, a cake sold from the same bakery — generally does not require a date mark under Standard 1.2.5. But the obligation to sell safe food does not go away. You must still control product life through good stock rotation and internal date management. Best practice is to apply an internal prep label with a made-on date and an internal use-by date calculated from production, so staff can see at a glance what must be used or discarded. Combine this with a daily out-of-date check and first-in-first-out rotation. Our product-life and prep-label tools auto-calculate internal use-by dates, and waste and expiry tracking flags items before they lapse. How Long Can You Keep Food After Opening? A packaged use-by or best-before date applies to the unopened product stored as directed. Once a package is opened, that printed date may no longer apply, because opening exposes the food to air and handling. A carton of cream with a use-by date two weeks away may only be good for a few days once opened. This is where internal date management takes over from the manufacturer's date. Best practice is to relabel opened or decanted products with the date opened and an internal use-by based on your food-safety program — commonly a set number of days for chilled ready-to-eat items. The same applies to food you cook or prepare: a cooked component cooled and stored under refrigeration needs its own internal use-by, not an assumption that it lasts indefinitely. Keeping opened stock at 5°C or below and using it within your internal window is what keeps it safe, regardless of the original printed date. Date Marking, Storage and the Cold Chain A use-by date is a promise that only holds if storage conditions are met, which is why date marking and temperature control work together. A chilled food labelled "keep refrigerated at or below 5°C" can spoil or become unsafe well before its use-by date if it spends hours in the danger zone of 5°C to 60°C. Conversely, correct cold storage is what allows the food to remain safe right up to the printed date. In a commercial kitchen this means checking deliveries arrive cold, moving chilled stock into refrigeration promptly, and monitoring fridge and coolroom temperatures continuously rather than trusting the label alone. The 2-hour/4-hour rule governs how long ready-to-eat food can safely spend in the danger zone across its life. Treat the printed date and the storage temperature as a single system: neither guarantees safety on its own. Recording fridge temperatures alongside your date checks gives you a complete picture of product safety. Frequently Asked Questions Which foods need a use-by date? Higher-risk foods that may become unsafe after a certain point, such as raw and cooked meat, poultry, seafood and ready-to-eat refrigerated foods, carry a use-by date. It is a safety marker and the food cannot be sold after it. Can I sell food after its best-before date? Yes, provided the food is still of acceptable quality