Know your 'best by' from 'use by' when food shopping

Most food products carry labels that show the date when a product should be bought by or when to use it by to ensure it is at its best quality.

This information is important for food safety but you should not be too quick to start pitching food out when the date expires.

If we better ­understand what the food labelling tells us, we can save a lot of money and anxiety. 

It can get a little confusing. There is ‘best by’, ‘sell by’, ‘use by’, ‘best before’ and ‘best if used by’ — and they all mean something different.

Some foods are safe to eat after the expiration date although they may not be as fresh, the nutrient value may be reduced and obviously they are not going to be at their best.

The trick is to know what the date labels mean and then determine what is safe to keep and what should be thrown away.

• Best by/before. This term means just what it says — it is best to purchase the product by the date on the container. 

‘Best by/before’ or ‘best if used by’ refers to a quality or flavour of the food and is usually used on foods that last longer, such as frozen, dried or canned foods.

While you can safely eat food ­after this date, it will often no longer be at its best.

Common foods with this label include margarine, popsicles, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ­marmalade and some frozen ­patties.

• Sell by/Display until. The ‘sell by’ date has more to do with ­quality than safety.

This label is more a guide to the store on how long to display the product for sale. 

Stores will use this to ensure staff know when to remove the item from the shelves, usually a few days before the ‘use by’ date so consumers have some days left to use the food.

• Use by. This is an expiration date set by the manufacturer. It means exactly what it says.

Consuming after this date is not recommended.

‘Use by’ dates can be found on foods that have to be stored at low temperatures to maintain their safety more than their quality.

These foods have a short product life after being manufactured and go off quickly, such as milk, soft cheese and bagged salads.

When buying meat, if the ‘sell by’ date is three days away, your refrigerator at home usually is not cool enough to keep the meat fresh for more than two days.

The temperature of a home ­refrigerator is about 36-40F — to keep other things from freezing — and raw meat is kept at about 30F. If you are not going to eat the meat within a few days you should freeze it.

Be very careful with eggs as they can contain salmonella ­bacteria and should not be eaten after the best before date.

However, if the label says ‘sell-by’, they can last as long as three weeks if refrigerated properly. 

Interestingly, eggs should be stored in their original carton on a shelf, not in the door as it is not as cold.

Look in your fridge and cupboards, check the dates on your groceries and read the storage ­information and ­follow any ­instructions on the packaging, such as ‘refrigerate ­after opening’, ‘do not freeze’ and ‘store in a cool, dry place’.

Regardless of the date on any product, it is simple to check items for a bad odour, a strange appearance or unpleasant taste. When in doubt, throw it out.

Bermuda currently has no food labelling legislation but it has been developed for domestically produced foods and is due to be enacted this year.

Local producers have been ­operating under a voluntary agreement of understanding with the Government and do provide some basic information on their labels.

Honey Adams is the education officer for the office of Consumer Affairs, within the Ministry of Culture and Social Rehabilitation’s Department of Human ­Affairs. For more consumer savvy information, visit www.ca.gov.bm