Use-By vs Best-Before: Date Marking Explained

A use-by date is about safety: food generally must not be sold or eaten after it, and selling past use-by is an offence. A best-before date is about quality: the food may lose flavour or texture afterwards but is usually still safe, and can generally still be sold if it remains fit for human consumption and is clearly labelled. Knowing the difference protects customers and keeps you compliant. Key takeaways: A use-by date is a safety limit — food generally must not be sold or eaten after it.. A best-before date is a quality guide — food is usually still safe afterwards and can generally still be sold if it stays fit for human consumption.. Selling food past its use-by date is generally an offence under food law.. If you make or pack food with a shelf life under two years, you usually have to date mark it.. Rotate stock so the earliest date is used or sold first (first-expired, first-out).. The legal difference in one line Date marking in Australia is set by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (generally Standard 1.2.5, Date marking of food for sale). A use-by date marks the point after which food may be unsafe even if it looks and smells fine — think chilled ready-to-eat foods, smallgoods and many dairy products. A best-before date marks the point after which food may start to lose quality, such as going stale or losing colour, but is generally still safe to eat. The two terms are not interchangeable, and which one applies depends on the food, not on your preference. Why you cannot sell past a use-by date Under the Food Standards Code and state and territory food laws, food generally must not be sold after its use-by date. Doing so is typically an offence, and the food should be removed from sale and discarded once that date passes. This applies whether the food is on a shelf, in a display fridge or being used as an ingredient in something you serve. Because use-by dates are a safety control, an inspector will usually treat expired use-by stock as a serious finding, so build a routine to pull it before it lapses. Use-by food past its date: remove from sale and discard.. Never use use-by-expired stock as an ingredient in food you serve.. Selling past use-by is generally an offence under food law.. Check chilled ready-to-eat items and smallgoods daily.. Selling and using best-before food Food past its best-before date can generally still be legally sold in Australia, provided it remains fit for human consumption and the food itself is not damaged, deteriorated or perished. This is why you sometimes see discounted 'past best-before' groceries. It is a quality judgement, not a free pass — if the product is mouldy, off, or the packaging is compromised, it should not be sold regardless of the date. One important exception: bread with a shelf life of less than seven days may be marked with a 'baked on' or 'baked for' date instead of a best-before date. Date marking food you make or pack If you manufacture, pack or make packaged food for sale that has a shelf life of less than two years, you generally must apply a date mark. Foods with a shelf life of two years or more usually do not need one. The date mark must be a use-by date if there is a health or safety reason to stop consumption after a certain date; otherwise a best-before date is generally used. Work out which applies based on how the food behaves — validated shelf-life testing or supplier guidance helps here — and don't default to best-before on a high-risk chilled product just because it sounds less alarming. Packaged food with a shelf life under two years: date marking is generally required.. Use a use-by date where there is a safety reason to stop consumption.. Use a best-before date for quality-limited, lower-risk foods.. Where storage conditions matter (e.g. 'Keep refrigerated'), state them on the label.. Making date marks legible and useful A date mark only works if staff and customers can read and act on it. Show the day and month (and year where relevant), keep it prominent and legible, and pair it with any storage direction the food needs to actually last that long — a use-by date on a chilled product assumes it stayed cold. In your kitchen, apply the same discipline to food you decant, portion or prep: label it with what it is and its own use-by so it doesn't outlive its safe window unnoticed at the back of a fridge. Checklist: Use-by items checked daily and expired stock discarded. No food offered for sale past its use-by date. Best-before food past date checked for quality before sale or use. Stock rotated first-expired, first-out. Made, packed and decanted foods labelled with a date mark. Storage directions (e.g. 'Keep refrigerated') shown where needed. Staff trained to tell use-by from best-before. Common mistakes: Treating a use-by date like a best-before date and selling or using expired stock. Discarding perfectly saleable best-before food while missing expired use-by items. Not date marking food you prep, decant or make in-house. Defaulting to 'best before' on a high-risk chilled product to sound less alarming. Applying a date mark but not stating the storage conditions the food needs to reach it. Poor stock rotation, so old dates hide behind new deliveries.