Best By, Sell By, Use By: What Food Date Labels Actually Mean

The big problem: nobody regulates date labels

Let's start with the most important fact: with the single exception of infant formula, the US federal government does not regulate date labels on food. Not the FDA. Not the USDA. No federal agency defines what "Best By" means or requires manufacturers to use any particular date format. The dates you see on food packages are set by manufacturers — and they're almost always about peak quality, not safety.

This creates a predictable outcome: consumers see a date, assume the food is dangerous after that date, and throw it out. A 2024 survey by the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic found that 84% of consumers throw away food based on date labels at least occasionally, and 37% do it always or usually. Most of that food was perfectly safe to eat.

A bill called the Food Date Labeling Act has been introduced in Congress multiple times to standardize labels into two categories — "Best if Used By" (quality) and "Use By" (safety) — but as of 2026, it hasn't passed. Until it does, understanding what current labels mean is up to you.

Best By / Best if Used By

What it means: The manufacturer thinks the food will taste best before this date. It's a quality estimate — not a safety warning.

Should you throw it out after this date? Almost never. Food past its "Best By" date is almost always safe to eat. Crackers might be less crispy. Cereal might be slightly stale. Canned goods might have slightly diminished texture. But none of these are safety issues. The USDA explicitly states: "'Best if Used By' is not a purchase or safety date."

How long after? It varies, but as a rough guide: canned goods are fine for 1-5 years past their Best By date (as long as the can isn't dented, rusted, or bulging). Dry pasta and rice: 1-2 years. Cereal and crackers: 3-6 months (they just go stale). Spices: years (they lose potency but don't spoil).

Sell By

What it means: This date is for the store, not for you. It tells the retailer how long to display the product. It has nothing to do with food safety and very little to do with quality at home.

Should you throw it out after this date? No. The USDA says: "Sell-By dates are guide for the store, not the consumer." Most food is perfectly fine for days or weeks after the Sell By date. Milk, for example, typically lasts 5-7 days past its Sell By date when properly refrigerated. Eggs can last 3-5 weeks after their Sell By date.

The industry is trying to phase this out: The Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute have encouraged manufacturers to drop "Sell By" in favor of "Best if Used By," precisely because consumers misunderstand it. But as of 2026, you'll still see "Sell By" on many products.

Use By / Expires On

What it means: This is the closest thing to a safety date, but even here, it's about peak quality for most foods. The manufacturer is saying: "for the best experience, use this product by this date."

Should you throw it out after this date? It depends. For highly perishable items — fresh meat, poultry, fish, deli meats — you should respect the Use By date more carefully. These items can develop harmful bacteria that don't produce obvious smells or visible signs. For most other foods — dairy, eggs, produce, packaged goods — the Use By date is conservative. Trust your senses: smell, look, and (for items you'd eat raw) a tiny taste.

The golden rule: If it smells fine, looks fine, and tastes fine, it's almost certainly fine — regardless of what the date says. The only exception is high-risk items (raw meat, poultry, seafood, unpasteurized dairy), where pathogens can exist without sensory cues. For these, err on the side of caution.

How long does food actually last?

The USDA and FDA publish guidelines for typical food shelf life under proper storage. Here's a practical cheat sheet:

Sources: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, FDA, foodsafety.gov

What to actually trust (instead of dates)

Your senses are more reliable than a date stamp. Here's your hierarchy of evidence:

1. Smell: Your nose is an exceptional food safety detector. Sour, rancid, or "off" smells mean discard — regardless of the date.
2. Appearance: Mold (beyond what's expected on hard cheeses or salami), sliminess, discoloration, or cloudiness in liquids. Cut off small mold spots on hard foods (cheese, firm vegetables) — the rest is fine. Soft foods with mold? Discard entirely.
3. Texture: Sliminess on meat, curdling in milk, mushiness in produce that should be firm. These are signs of spoilage.
4. Taste: If it passes smell and appearance, a tiny taste confirms. If it tastes "off" or sour when it shouldn't be — spit it out and discard.
5. The date, last: Use the date as a rough guideline for when to check the food, not when to discard it.

How technology can help

Understanding date labels is one thing — remembering to check 40 different items before they actually go bad is another. This is where an expiry date tracker changes the game. Instead of manually checking every item in your fridge, an app like ScanMyPantry tracks purchase dates and expiry dates automatically, sorts your inventory by freshness, and sends push notifications before food goes bad.

The combination of understanding what dates mean and having a system to track them is what actually changes behavior. You stop throwing out food that's perfectly good, and you use what's actually expiring before it's too late.