A lot of people can easily get confused by the difference between the “best before” or the “use by” dates that are printing onto the packaging of food. Many see the date on the packaging as being the date that it needs to be eaten up by and they don’t like to eat the product after this date, when in a lot of circumstances, this needn’t be the case.
Due to many people not eating food after the date stated on the packaging, there ends up being an extensive amount of food waste, this being a waste of the food itself and a waste of money. If it was made clearer to the customers buying the food that there is a difference between “best before” and “use by” then maybe there wouldn’t be so much food waste and people would be able to eat a product that they would have previously thrown away.
The “Use By” Date
The “use by” date is seen on products such as dairy products and meat. It also states that it needs to be used within a certain amount of days after being opened. This is because after the “use by” date, or the length of time that it has been opened, it starts to become unhealthy and may be bad for you and your health. As long as you use this sort of food product within the correct guidelines then it shouldn’t go off before the date that it states on the packaging.
The “Best Before” Date
The “best before” date is completely different to the “use by” date. “Best before” means that the product tastes its best, before this date and you can in fact eat the product after the date stated on the packaging, it just might not taste as good as it would have done before the “best before” date. This is where food gets wasted and it is a shame because if you have something that has passed its “best before” date, but hasn’t even been opened then it usually tastes quite fresh still even if it is a day or two after the date indicated on the packaging. Clearly if the product is a number of weeks out of date then the product has most probably gone off, but within a few days the product should be fine. It is also up to the individuals’ decision on whether or not to eat the product. If it doesn’t look, smell or taste right then it doesn’t have to be eaten.
Food will also always taste its best if it has been stored correctly, following the instructions that are printed onto the packaging for you. This could be “store in a cool dry place” or “place in the refrigerator once opened”. If these guidelines are always followed then the food should be okay a day or two after the “best before” dates.
If you feel like you may not eat something by the “use by” or the “best before” dates then you can always freeze foods and most of the time you are then able to use them within a month. This stops wasting food and means you can use the food as and when you like, providing you follow the freezing guidelines or defrost the product completely beforehand. You can also cook a lot of foods from frozen, usually only having to add on several minutes to the cooking times. Again this is usually stated on the packaging.
To stop millions of tonnes of food being wasted, everyone should consider whether or not a food product is actually out of date. If the “use by” date has gone then it is understandable not to use the product as it could be bad for your health, however if the “best before” date has just passed by, then this product is probably still okay and even more so if the packaging of the product hasn’t even been opened. Thinking twice about throwing away food will not only stop the amount of food waste, but will also save you money.
