What do food date labels like "best by" and "sell by" actually mean?

“Best by,” “sell by,” “use by,” “best before,” and “enjoy by” all look like expiration dates, but the U.S. federal government does not require them on most foods, except infant formula. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is explicit about this: with the exception of infant formula, date labels are quality indicators, not safety deadlines. Manufacturers set them based on their own testing for taste, texture, and nutrient stability, and they are usually conservative so that customers experience the product at its peak.

“Sell by” is for the store, not you. It tells the retailer how long to display the product before pulling it from the shelf. It is not a safety date, and the food is usually fine for days or weeks beyond the printed sell-by date if it has been stored correctly. Grocery stores use it for stock rotation, and consumers usually never need to look at it.

“Best by” or “best before” is a quality estimate. It is the manufacturer’s guess at when the product will start to decline in flavor, texture, or nutrient content. A bag of chips past its best-by date may be a little stale; a jar of spices past it may have lost potency. Neither is a safety issue. Many “expired” pantry staples are perfectly usable for months or years past the printed date if they have been kept sealed and dry.

“Use by” is the closest to a real safety date. The FDA treats it as the last date the manufacturer guarantees the product’s safety and potency. For perishable items like deli meat, fresh pasta, soft cheese, and prepared salads, it is worth taking seriously. The FDA tightened guidance on use-by dates in recent years precisely because consumers confuse them with sell-by and best-by. Still, “use by” is a manufacturer estimate, not a regulator-mandated safety cutoff, and a sniff test, visual check, and storage history usually tell you more.

The one category with strict federal dating is infant formula, where the FDA requires a “use by” date because nutrients can degrade over time and because infant illness risk is high. Otherwise, the labeling system is voluntary. USDA’s WIC Works program and Harvard T.H. Chan’s Nutrition Source both note that the lack of a single standard has produced widespread consumer confusion and significant food waste. ReFed, a food-waste nonprofit, estimates American consumers throw out about a third of the food supply, and a meaningful share of that waste is driven by date-label confusion.

There is also a real movement toward standardizing. In 2023, USDA publicly supported industry efforts to voluntarily move toward two standard labels: “best if used by” for quality and “use by” for safety. Several major grocery chains and food manufacturers, including Walmart, Target, Kroger, and Danone, have already adopted the two-label convention. The change has not yet been federally mandated, but it is the most likely future direction.

In the meantime, the practical habit is simple. Use the printed date as a quality guide. Trust your senses for safety: smell, look, texture, and how the food has been stored. If you cannot remember when something was opened, label it with the date and err on the side of caution for high-risk foods like deli meats, soft cheeses, and smoked fish, where Listeria and other pathogens can grow even in refrigerated storage.

Canned goods are a special case. High-acid canned foods like tomatoes and pickles should be used within 1 to 2 years for best quality, while low-acid canned foods like beans and soups can stay safe much longer if the can is intact and stored cool and dry. The biggest warning sign is a swollen can, a deep seam dent, or a foul odor on opening. If the can looks fine and the food smells normal, it is almost always fine even past the printed date. For more on food safety at home, see the leftover storage guide and the dropped food guide.