Use-by and best-before dates

The two dates

• Use-by: a safety date, on food that goes off quickly such as fresh meat, fish, milk, ready meals and salads. After the use-by date the food is deemed unsafe (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Article 24). Don’t use it, sell it or serve it, even if it looks and smells fine.
• Best-before: a quality date, on longer-life food such as dry goods, tins and frozen food. After it the food may lose flavour or texture, but it can still be safe if stored correctly and in good condition.

What a kitchen should do

1. Check dates on delivery. Don’t accept chilled food with too little life left to use it. Write the use-by date on your delivery log.
2. First in, first out. New stock goes behind old stock, so the shortest date gets used first.
3. Check the fridges daily for anything at or past its use-by date, and throw it out.
4. Follow storage instructions. A use-by date only applies if the food is kept as the label says, and many change once opened (“once opened, use within 3 days”).
5. Best-before stock: if you sell it after the date, check it is still in perfect condition and tell customers it is past its best-before date.

Food you prepare yourself

Anything you cook, portion or open and keep for later needs a label: what it is, the date it was made or opened, and the date to use it by. Set those shelf lives in your HACCP plan, and never give a prepared dish a later date than its shortest-dated ingredient. Colour-coded day labels help staff spot old food at a glance.

Freezing

Food can usually be frozen up to its use-by date if the label allows it. Label it with the date it went into the freezer, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions and your own plan for how long to keep it and how to defrost and use it.

In Hygivo, staff photograph the delivery label and the app reads the use-by or best-before date for them to check, so every delivery record has the date. See delivery records in Hygivo.

See the FSAI’s guidance on best-before and use-by dates. This is general information, not advice for your business. Your food safety management system (HACCP plan) and FSAI guidance are the reference. Hygivo is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FSAI.