Which foods carry a "use by" date?

Foods that are highly perishable from a microbiological point of view and likely, after a short period, to be an immediate danger to health: typically fresh meat and fish, cooked meats, fresh dairy products and chilled ready meals. Everything else carries a "best before" date, and a few foods are exempt from any date at all, such as unpeeled fresh fruit and vegetables, wine, vinegar, salt and solid sugar.

Can food past its "best before" date be sold or served?

Yes, nothing forbids it: "best before" is not a safety limit. The operator remains responsible for what is placed on the market, so the food must still be sound and acceptable, packaging intact, storage conditions respected. In the UK the Food Standards Agency says the same: food past its "best before" may be eaten and sold, food past its "use by" may not.

What should be done with food past its "use by" date?

Withdraw it. Food past its "use by" date is deemed unsafe: it is not sold, not served, not cooked into something else. In a kitchen it is set aside, then disposed of, and the decision is recorded on the traceability register with the lot concerned. Out-of-date stock is one of the easiest non-conformities for an inspector to find.

What is a secondary use-by date?

The date the operator sets once a product is opened, decanted or repacked: the original date no longer applies once the packaging is open. How long depends on the product and comes from your sector's good hygiene practice guides and your own food safety plan; no regulation sets a single duration. It goes on the product and on the opened-products register.

Reference

Use by and best before: the date labels explained

A "use by" date is a safety limit: after it, the food is deemed unsafe and may no longer be sold or served. A "best before" date is a quality limit: after it, the food remains safe to eat if its packaging is intact, though flavour or texture may decline. Both come from Article 24 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.

The date is the label's job. The temperature is yours.

A "use by" date only holds under the storage conditions printed on the pack: a product kept out of its range can become unsafe before the printed date. A KelvinTag sensor measures every enclosure continuously, warns you as soon as it leaves the range you set, and keeps the timestamped history that proves the cold chain was held.

See the KelvinTag sensor

Use by or best before: the table

Two dates, two logics. One protects health, the other quality, and the manufacturer chooses which one to apply according to the nature of the food: highly perishable foods must carry a "use by" date.

	Use by	Best before
Wording on the label	"Use by" + date	"Best before" or "best before end" + date
What the date means	A safety limit, for foods that are highly perishable microbiologically.	A quality limit: until that date the food keeps its specific properties when stored as indicated.
After the date	Deemed unsafe (Art. 24 of Regulation 1169/2011, Art. 14 of Regulation 178/2002): no sale, no service, no processing.	May be eaten and sold if the packaging is intact and storage was respected; flavour or texture may decline. Sensory check, under the operator's responsibility.
Typical products	Fresh meat and fish, cooked meats, fresh dairy, chilled ready meals.	Canned goods, dry goods (pasta, rice, flour), coffee, biscuits, drinks, frozen food.
Legal basis	Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Article 24 and Annex X point 2.	Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Article 24 and Annex X point 1.

A date only holds under its storage conditions. Annex X requires the date to be accompanied by the storage conditions to observe where they are needed. A chilled product kept out of its range no longer has a reliable "use by" date, whatever is printed; and once the packaging is opened, the secondary use-by date set by the establishment applies.

What carries no date at all

Annex X exempts from a "best before" date fresh fruit and vegetables that are not peeled or cut, wines and beverages of 10% alcohol or more, bakers' wares normally consumed within 24 hours, vinegar, cooking salt, solid sugar, confectionery consisting almost solely of sugars, and chewing gum. Everything else carries a "use by" or a "best before".

One case is set by another text: the "best before" date of eggs, which Regulation (EC) No 589/2008 caps at 28 days after laying.

In the kitchen: where these dates are recorded

On receipt, the "use by" or "best before" goes on the traceability register with the lot and the temperature on arrival. On opening, the original date stops applying and the establishment sets a secondary use-by, written on the product and on the opened-products register. No text fixes that duration: it comes from the good hygiene practice guides and the food safety plan. Out-of-date stock is a non-conformity an inspector spots in seconds.

Sources

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Article 24 and Annex X - the "use by" and "best before" dates, their exact wording, and the foods exempt from any date.
Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, Article 14 - what "unsafe" means, and why food past its "use by" date may not be sold.
Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, Article 12 - the "best before" date of eggs, fixed at no more than 28 days after laying.
Your national rules - the UK kept the EU rules after leaving; check the Food Standards Agency guidance on date labelling.

Frequently asked questions

A "use by" date is a safety limit: after it, the food is deemed unsafe under Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 and may no longer be sold or served. A "best before" (or "best before end") date is a quality limit: after it, the food may lose flavour or texture but remains safe to eat if the packaging is intact and it was stored as instructed. Both come from Article 24 and Annex X of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.

The date is printed. The cold chain has to be proven.

KelvinTrack measures every enclosure continuously, alerts you the moment a limit is crossed, and keeps a timestamped history you can produce in seconds at an inspection.

See how it works

The other documents in the food-safety file, free to download or generate.