Is It Safe to Consume Foods after Expiration Date?

Sardine in the cans

Surprisingly that no federal regulation to impose “product dating.” However, foods for infant are required to include “expire dating.”

The institution called as “Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)” requests voluntarily to label of dating some products, including:

- meat

- poultry

- eggs

We may find the following phrases in the market:

- use by

- sell by

- best if used before

Food preserved in the bottle

“Use by” phrase means “the last date recommended for the use of the product.” Thus, not a safety date.

Phrase of “sell by” is used by a store management to display the products for sale to consumers. It is not relate to quality or safety of products.

Traditional preserved tempeh

“Best if use before,” this is not indicating to safety date. It is just the date of the best flavor.

So, if the “phrases” not refer to food safety, then, we may have a question: Is It Safe to Consume Foods after Expiration Date?

The answer is depend on several factors, generally:

- If flavor, odor and color changed, then, we should throw away the foods.

- if foods are preserved in bottles and cans, we may eat after six months of expired date.

We may consume little bit longer than expired date, if we keep our purchased foods (eggs, meat, chicken, milk, apple, strawberry and other fresh or preserved products) in the refrigerator and or freezer.

Did you ever consume expired date foods?