Difference between Best Before and Expiration Date

I found the answer to this question here: http://www.lifeandfever.com/2011/08/best-before-expiry-date-difference.html. Hope that helps. :)

I think your cousin is right. Expired products would mean it would be harmful to the body if consumed but best before dates would mean the item would not be as good but still edible but maybe less nutrients. I usually don't eat items that is pass the best before date either unless I am really desperate (ie. if it is the only piece of bread left in the house).

Hi Carly, I'm not really sure on the difference between best by date, expiration date or sell by date. I think they are all somewhat the same. breads, chips and things do get moldy and stale after a time and so much of that depends on how they are stored after opening. On bread, if there are no green creatures growing on it then you are probably fine. At the store we have to pull things from the shelves by these dates. Most things are still good for a long long time after the dates.

Sometimes it's hard to know what we are buying. When a product says best before, I take that to mean that is the last date to use product before it loses its potential. I take the expiration date as being the last day product should be used. Beyond the expiration date could be harmful to us to use. If the expiration date passes, i usually throw it away.

The 'best before' dates are more about quality than safety. So when the date runs out it doesn't mean that the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour, texture or appearance. A “use by” date or Expiration Date has to be provided by law on pre-packed foods which are highly perishable and so are more likely to have bacteria or toxins if udes too long after a certain time. Throwing away all food that is beyond its “best before” date does lead to unnecessary waste of food.

you can still consume the food or any item on its best before or expiration date as long as it is not spoiled. foods with best before seal is at its best taste before the date tagged on it. most of the items have expiration date this is for the company to control their products, and most of the expiration date is not the actual expiration it is a strategy for the company to have it back to them and put it to sale so as to prevent a lot of damage or money loss on their items.

Hello carlynganda your cousin is right just because bread or other food product has a best before date on it doesn't necessarily mean it is already expired in fact if todays date is Jun 24th 2010 and you have bread that is dated June 24th 2010 you can still eat it only on that day however if it 1 or 2 days over that date it is already in bad shape and is no longer fit for human consumption and is best bagged and given to local farmers to be used as animal feed or fed to ducks or swans in a small park pond I volunteer in a local food bank that hands out food to the needy and this is one of the things that we are taught when it comes time to remove the bread from the shelf

Indeed the best before is a mark for you to tell you that the certain food item is best eaten before this specific date but does not necessarily mean you cannot eat it anymore. It really depends on the food item you are referring to. Of course there are some food items that you can physically tell if its not worth eating anymore. Expiration date tells you that definitely the food will be spoiled on this specific date. But then again there are some that uses that as their gauge to when they should finish it all up.

Hm, interesting. I am thinking like your cousin. Best before is not the expiration date. Expiration date is the final date when you have to throw it away, sometimes one month before the expiration date the food already taste differently. While best before is the date when the food is best consumed, the next two days would still be good even if not best. But like the others suggested here, even when the date is not yet expired, you have to check if the casing is still in good condition, is there mold or dew on the food, does it smell, etc?

As long as the food was still in a good shape and there were no signs of molds, I think it can be eaten but be careful of the smell. Because sometimes, they look good but they smells bad at all.