Many people don’t know that expiry date and best before date are not the same. In fact, many people use them interchangeably thinking that they mean the same thing. Well, let me use this medium to inform you that expiry date and best before date are two different terminologies meaning different things and serving different purposes.

In this article, I will explain what each date marking found on food packages means and also introduce to you, the concepts of “use by” date and “durable life date”. I will however lay more emphasis on the expiry date and best before dates because they are the most commonly used on food packages.
Definition of Terms (Date Markings on Food Packs)

Expiry Date: It is added to a food package to tell consumers the last day a product is safe to consume. You should never consume food after the expiry date.

Best Before Date: This is the date the manufacturer deems the product reaches peak freshness. The date does not indicate spoilage, nor does it necessarily tells you that the food is no longer safe for consumption.


Photo Credit: yummymummyclub.ca

Sell by: This is specifically added for sellers of the products. Most sell-by dates are found on perishables like meat, seafood and milk. The date is a guide for stores to know how long they can display a particular product. After this date, they MUST not sell it.

So, what are the important differences between EXPIRY DATE and BEST BEFORE DATE? By the time you are done reading this, you would find out that it is not every food that expires and not every food you should throw away after some dates.

1. The Meaning of Expiry Date & Best Before Date

Expiry date means that your food has gone spoilt from that date and you should never consume it. It is no longer safe to eat such foods as they would lead to illness and in extreme cases, death. Best Before Date on the other hand tells you that the food is no longer in its perfect shape from that date. It may just lose its freshness, taste aroma or nutrients. It does not necessarily mean that the food is no longer safe to eat.

Expiry date is not something we see on every food product. Unlike Best Before Dates, there are five types of products that are labelled with an expiration date:

Baby formula and other human milk substitutes.
Nutritional supplements.
Meal replacements.
Pharmacist-sold foods for very low-energy diets.
Formulated liquid diets.


However, it is easy to find best before dates on nearly every item in the supermarket.

2.Best Before relates to Quality, Expiry Date to Safety

Best before dates indicates that the quality of a food material can no longer be guaranteed after that date, so this is a Quality indicator. On the other hand, Expiry Date indicates that a food has gone bad and should not be eaten. You put yourself in danger if you eat the food after its expiry date.



In a country like the U.S.A., foods that are perishable (e.g. cheese) are required by law to have an expiry date but something like a sleeve of crackers or a box of cereal doesn’t need to be dated. The best before date added to the packages of these food material are mostly voluntary.

3. It’s Possible To Eat Food After Best Before Date Without Falling ill

Like I said earlier at some point in this article, best before dates do not relate to the safety of a food product, it is just about quality. This means that we can still eat a food that has passed its best before date; the food would just likely not be in its best quality state. It might have lost some nutrients or changed colour.

Manufacturers usually choose best before dates through sensory testing over a period of time. Testing may be scheduled for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 9 months after the product was manufactured. This depends on the food that is being tested.

The truth is that manufacturers choose mostly 20% earlier date than the best before date. If the food’s quality can no longer be guaranteed after 100days of storage, manufacturers would normally put the best before date at day 80 after manufacture.

Source: http://www.foodsng.com/3-differences-between-expiry-best-before-date-of-food/

Chai!!... all those Gala I've thrown away cos BB date

ok we hear una

Very educative piece. If only I checked any of the above before eating my gala

Asito:
.

Informative

JeffreyJamez:
Chai!!... all those Gala I've thrown away cos BB date

I will rather throw the gala away. best before indicates when the quality of the goods cant be trusted again. so u want to risk your life cos of 50 naira gala? u even did the INTRO on this your own post. INTROvert u did not do the intro, why?

Buhari has reach Best Before date...

After his first 100 days, he has reached expiry date and as d OP said, no longer useful.




Bottom line... Make hay while the sun shines. The 'change' we've experienced so far isn't positive at all.

True

Informative..MODs do the needful.

I hear

How did I get here

Thank u

chai..... all those tins of milk I threw away cuz I tot they had expired...
op u sef eh......
u made FP and u still book space....

ok



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Y ar they not doing it like this (PROD+BEST BEFORE+EXPIRY), all we see is either (PROD+BEST BEFORE) or (PROD+EXPIRY).

;DHere in nigeria we eat expired food that has expired over 11years Here in nigeria we eat expired food that has expired over 11years


Example is chocola royal

Most times when we walk into big malls,
boutiques, supermarkets, we never
question their prices. We pay exactly what
we see on the price tags and even hand
out tips to the staff. But the moment we
are out of these shops and want tobuy
banana, our bargaining game gets off to
the roof. . Poor widow with 12 hungry
children at home tells you banana is N100.
She even takes out her time to explain
how difficult it wasfor her to even buy it,
how the economy is so tough. But we
insist that if it's not N50, we are not
paying. Some of us even step back into our
cars and make to drive away. . But because
'half bread is better chin chin', this woman
is forced to call you back and sell to you at
little or no gain. In her heart, she cries,
she's worried about how she'll survive
with her children. She silently reassures
herself that 'It's well. God will definitely
provide.'' While you happily chop the
luscious banana. . Take some seconds out
and think about this, guys. Please don't
bargain hard with small vendors like this.
They do business not to buy designer
bags, Gucci shoes but to LIVE and EAT!
Have a luvly week ahead.

Actually I have not read it I just have to hurry up to book space

Yap am back I have read it an educative piece

I swear I'm guilty of taking the two terminologies to mean the same thing. I feel like turning back the hands of time so I can get to recover all the beverages I've been throwing away as a result of this gross ignorance.

But trust me . I ain't gonna disclose this to my friends. I'm gonna use this piece of information to my advantage . You understand that right?

Best before and expiry date na english

Thanks for this information

Some items has just 'manufactured date'. This leaves consumers with not enough information to start guessing what the expiry date will be. A good example is 'tyres'

Ok

ok

And what happens to items that have their manufacturing date ahead of the original date we bought them

...iif I check d bb or expiry and is close, God knows I won't buy it

hbd to me. Pls show me some likes since nairaland admi has refused to list me amongts today's celebrants birthday board list.

Y wud I wanna eat sumtin dat has passed peak freshness Y wud I wanna eat sumtin dat has passed peak freshness

@op, you are right bt you know when you give Nigerians chance they will take chances. To be on a safer side, once it has 'expired' or past its 'best before' please, do not consume. Take alcoholic drinks for example, there is a probability that the enzymes used in its fermentation must have gained full strength after its best before and this can harm the consumer if taken.

barry40:
a

For Akpu

NICE

exipiry date : actually, some products would've expired befor its expiry date while some can still have more days left to expire after the tagged expiry date..