Confusion over date labels is common – only 36% of us correctly understand the term ‘Use By’ and by getting dates in a muddle, we easily end up throwing away food that is perfectly edible or on the other hand, eating food that is potentially unsafe.
Just under half of the good food and drink that we end up throwing away (worth £5.6 billion) is because we don’t use it in time: thrown away because it has either gone off or passed the date on the packaging.  By getting the dates to work for us, we can eat safely, take control, and also save money.
The most important dates to remember are:
‘Use By’ is there for your safety and is only found on foods where there is a safety risk. Therefore food should not be eaten past this date, but it can be eaten or frozen right up to it
‘Best Before’ date relates to quality – it will be at its peak condition at this time – food will still be safe to eat after the date, but it may not be at its best
‘Sell By’ and ‘Display Until’ dates are just for the shops for internal stock control not shoppers so they can be safely ignored. If others in your house always throw food away at its Sell By scribble it out – just make sure you leave any Use By clearly displayed. Also try writing an ‘opened on’ date on your milk or juice so that everyone in your home knows how long they have to use them