Understanding “Best By” Dates on Food Packaging

“Best By” is a quality date, not a safety date. In the United States, with the single exception of infant formula, no federal rule requires a date on food, and passing the printed date does not mean the food has spoiled. It means the maker expects peak flavor and texture up to that day. This guide explains what the label means, how it differs from “Sell By” and “Use By,” and how long common foods stay good after the date.

What a “Best By” date means

Date labeling on food in the U.S. is largely voluntary. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) do not require packages to carry an expiration or “Best By” date; when a manufacturer prints one, it must be truthful and not misleading. According to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, a “Best if Used By” date indicates when a product will be at its best flavor or quality. It is not a safety date. The FDA and USDA both encourage the “Best if Used By” phrasing precisely because it signals quality: after that day the product may decline in taste or texture, but it is still safe to eat if it has been stored properly and shows no sign of spoilage.

The one legal exception is infant formula, which must carry a “Use By” date because its nutrients can degrade; formula should not be used past that date. For every other food, the date is a manufacturer’s estimate of when optimum quality begins to fade, usually based on testing under normal storage conditions.

“Best By” vs. “Sell By” vs. “Use By” vs. “Expiration”

Label	Who it’s for	What it means	Safety date?
Best if Used By / Best By	You	Peak flavor and quality up to this date; still safe afterward if stored well	No
Sell By	The store	Inventory guidance so you buy with plenty of shelf life left; often good for days or weeks after	No
Use By	You	Last date recommended for peak quality; used on perishables where quality drops faster	No, except infant formula
Expires / Expiration	You	Rare on food; used on some supplements and formula. Where it appears, follow it	Yes

In short: “Best By” is a quality peak, “Sell By” is a stocking guide, “Use By” is a quality deadline, and a true “Expiration” is uncommon on food. Only infant formula is regulated for safety.

Quality, not safety

Time alone does not make food unsafe; spoilage does. A box of crackers marked “Best By June” is still safe in July, if perhaps slightly less crisp. USDA notes that many shelf-stable foods remain safe indefinitely when stored properly, and that you will usually notice a change in quality — staleness, a flat flavor — long before anything becomes inedible. So trust your senses: if a food looks, smells and tastes normal and was stored correctly, it is almost certainly fine past its date. If you see mold, an off odor, leaking or bulging packaging, discard it, whatever the date says.

This matters beyond your own pantry. An estimated one-fifth of household food waste in the U.S. comes from people misreading date labels and throwing out good food. Reading “Best By” as what it is, a quality note, is the simplest way to waste less.

Which foods carry “Best By” dates

Mostly shelf-stable and packaged goods, which is to say most of what a gourmet pantry holds:

Canned goods — soups, vegetables, fruit, sauces. Dated years out and typically safe well beyond that if the can is intact.
Dry goods — pasta, rice, cereal, crackers, baking mixes. Safe long past the date; they may eventually go stale.
Jarred and bottled foods — jams, honey, sauces, olive oils, spices, condiments. Honey is essentially non-perishable; oils and spices lose aroma before they lose safety.
Beverages — juices, soft drinks, even bottled water, which carries a date for taste rather than safety.
Snacks and sweets — chips, chocolate, nuts. Nuts are the ones to watch; their oils can turn rancid once opened.

Highly perishable foods use other labels. Fresh meat, fish and dairy usually carry “Sell By” (milk is generally fine for about a week after, refrigerated); prepared foods, deli items and bagged salads carry “Use By,” which is worth respecting; eggs may carry either and stay good three to five weeks past the date if kept at or below 40°F.

The foods we sell — honeys and confitures, fleur de sel and finishing salts, olive oils, mustards and the rest of the gourmet pantry — are almost all in the first group. Sugar, salt, acidity and drying are traditional preservatives, and producers tend to set their dates conservatively. A jar near or just past its “Best By” date is very likely still excellent.

How long foods stay good after the date

There is no single answer, but these are reasonable guidelines for unopened items stored in a cool, dry place:

Canned foods — often safe three to five years past the date, longer for low-acid foods (meat, soups); high-acid foods (tomatoes, fruit) are best within one to two years but remain safe beyond that. Skip any can that is rusted, dented or swollen.
Rice, pasta, flour and grains — around two years; expect a slight stale note after that.
Cereal, cookies, crackers — dated six to twelve months out and safe well after; a few minutes in the oven revives most of them.
Juice and soft drinks — fine for months past the date with some loss of flavor or fizz. Bottled water keeps indefinitely.
Condiments, jams, pickles — dated one to two years out and usable for another year or two unopened. Once opened, refrigerate and use within weeks to months.
Nuts and snacks — a few months past the date. If nuts smell stale or soapy, the oils have turned.
Frozen foods — safe indefinitely while frozen solid; the date only predicts texture and freezer burn.

When in doubt, look, smell and taste a little. Spoiled food announces itself. The USDA and FDA’s FoodKeeper app gives storage guidance for specific items.

A note from Lello

Some of the products we carry print a “Best By” date on the package. It is a best-flavor date, not an expiration: the producer’s recommendation for when the product is at its very best. Most of our shelf-stable pantry — sauces, spices, honeys, confitures, salts, oils — remains safe and good well past that date, particularly unopened, with at most a gentle change in intensity you may never notice. If an item we send is near its date, we will tell you, and we stand behind it. If you ever have a question about a date on something you bought from us, ask; we are happy to check the product for you.

Questions

Is it safe to eat food past its “Best By” date? Usually, yes. For everything except infant formula, the date is about quality. Judge the food by its appearance, smell and taste, and by how it was stored.

What is the difference between “Best By” and “Use By”? Both are quality dates set by the manufacturer. “Use By” is applied to more perishable foods and is a firmer recommendation, but it is still not a safety date except on infant formula.

Does olive oil go bad after its date? Olive oil does not become unsafe; it slowly loses freshness and can eventually taste flat or waxy. Keep it capped, cool and dark, and finish a bottle within a few months of opening. We cover this in detail in Does olive oil expire?

Does honey expire? Properly stored honey is essentially non-perishable. It may crystallize; a jar set in warm water returns it to liquid.

Does salt expire? No. Salt keeps indefinitely. Fleur de sel is best kept lidded so it stays slightly moist — more on that in our guide to fleur de sel, sea salt and kosher salt.

Sources

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, joint USDA/FDA request for information on food date labeling (December 2024)
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, guidance on food product dating
USDA blog, “Before You Toss Food, Wait. Check It Out!” (Marianne Gravely, 2013)
U.S. PIRG consumer guide, “Best by vs. Use by” (updated December 2024)
FDA consumer information, “How to Cut Food Waste and Maintain Food Safety”