Here's Why You Can't Trust Food Expiration Dates

Key Takeaways

“The dates are there to let consumers and retailers know when a product will be at its best flavor and texture, not when it will suddenly spoil,”Dani Matthies, RD, CD, LD, a corporate registered dietitian with Hy-Vee, told Verywell in an email.

Understanding what the expiration date labels mean might help cut down on unnecessary food waste in your household.

Did You Know?

Best By, Sell By, Use By

None of these dates refers to food safety.

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However, the food industry doesn’t have much of a financial incentive to change its practices. If consumers throw away food that’s past its expiration date, they would end up buying more new products.

“So the consumers are very confused, and who benefits from this? The manufacturers,” Hem-Lee said.

How Can You Tell If the Foods Are Still Safe?

About 48 million people in the U.S. get sick from a foodborne illness each year,and yet consumers are often left to determine food safety on their own.

Experts say the expiration dates on food packaging are not a deadline for food spoilage, and foods can go bad before or after the date.

“Milk, for instance, is going to last five to seven days past the expiration date,”Isabel Maples, MEd, RDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told Verywell. But deli meat really only lasts a few days, she added.

How to Reduce Cross-Contamination If You Have Food Allergies

There are ways to determine when a food product has gone bad besides looking at expiration dates. Throw out food that smells bad, looks odd, or has mold growing on it, Matthies suggested.

But this practice won’t help people identify all foodborne pathogens. For instance, listeria, one of the main causes of food poisoning deaths in the U.S., can’t be smelled or tasted in food.

To promote food safety, health authorities recommend keeping your hands clean, avoiding cross-contaminating meat with other items, cooking everything to the right temperature, and storing perishable food in the refrigerator or freezer.

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Innovative Alternatives to Expiration Dates

Some agencies and companies are working to try to change the way consumers think about expiration dates.

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If you’re trying to decide if your pantry items or leftovers are still safe to eat, you can use theUSDA’s FoodKeeper Appinstead of relying on expiration dates, Maples suggested. This app can help you track how long foods can be safely stored in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer based on when you purchased or opened the product.

In addition to these strategies, meal planning and thinking about where to store food can help eliminate food waste and an over-reliance on expiration dates.

If it’s hard to shake the habit of checking expiration dates at the grocery store, you can still use this to your advantage, according to Matthies.

“Think of expiration dates as another resource to help you get the most out of your grocery purchases,” she said. “If you buy fresh meat that’s close to its expiration date, you know to use that for meals sooner in the week, or to freeze it.”

What This Means For YouExpiration dates don’t indicate safety. It’s best to use your senses to judge whether a food product is still safe for consumption.

What This Means For You

Expiration dates don’t indicate safety. It’s best to use your senses to judge whether a food product is still safe for consumption.

7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Food and Drug Administration.How to cut food waste and maintain food safety.U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.FoodKeeper app.U.S. Department of Agriculture.Food product dating.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Foodborne germs and illnesses.Michigan State University Extension.Listeria is a harmful bacteria you can’t see, smell or taste.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Four steps to food safety: clean, separate, cook, chill.Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.How to keep produce fresh longer - infographic.

7 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Food and Drug Administration.How to cut food waste and maintain food safety.U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.FoodKeeper app.U.S. Department of Agriculture.Food product dating.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Foodborne germs and illnesses.Michigan State University Extension.Listeria is a harmful bacteria you can’t see, smell or taste.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Four steps to food safety: clean, separate, cook, chill.Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.How to keep produce fresh longer - infographic.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Food and Drug Administration.How to cut food waste and maintain food safety.U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.FoodKeeper app.U.S. Department of Agriculture.Food product dating.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Foodborne germs and illnesses.Michigan State University Extension.Listeria is a harmful bacteria you can’t see, smell or taste.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Four steps to food safety: clean, separate, cook, chill.Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.How to keep produce fresh longer - infographic.

Food and Drug Administration.How to cut food waste and maintain food safety.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.FoodKeeper app.

U.S. Department of Agriculture.Food product dating.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Foodborne germs and illnesses.

Michigan State University Extension.Listeria is a harmful bacteria you can’t see, smell or taste.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Four steps to food safety: clean, separate, cook, chill.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.How to keep produce fresh longer - infographic.

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