What do expiration dates actually mean?

This post first appeared in our weekly Make Waves Mondays email series on March 3, 2025.

---

Hello hello friend!

Today, I wanna take things back to basics and revisit a topic that was one of the very first Make Waves Mondays: expiration dates.

Specifically:

• Who determines expiration dates?
• What do expiration dates actually mean?
• How can we determine if something is actually expired?

But first…why does it matter?

Did you know that in the United States, 38% of all food goes uneaten or unsold? That’s the equivalent of 145 billion meals wasted each year.

There are many factors that play into this, but one of them is confusion around expiration dates. It’s not uncommon for people to throw away perfectly safe and delicious food just because the expiration date on the package shows a date that seems less than ideal.

One study even found that 84% of consumers throw away food that’s near its “expiration date” at least occasionally, leading to the average US household of four spending $1,500 to $3,000 a year on food that just gets thrown away.

Even the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recognizes that confusing expiration dates lead to higher levels of food waste.

Meanwhile, 47 million people in the US are facing food insecurity, including 14 million children.

These numbers just don’t add up.

Why are we tossing 145 billion meals when 47 million people are food insecure?

Now, one of the best ways to reduce food waste is to simply buy less food at a time. But once that food is in our fridge or our pantry, what do we do with all of those expiration dates?

Let’s dive into it 👇

Who determines expiration dates?

You may or may not be surprised to learn that expiration dates are set by the manufacturer - not regulated by the federal government.

I feel like this information would have been more surprising a few months ago…but I digress.

With the exception of infant formula, expiration dates are not required or regulated in any way by federal law.

That’s why there are so many different types of “expiration” dates. Best by, sell by, use by…

What are the dating requirements for infant formula?

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires infant formula to display a “use by” date.

This date ensures that the formula does not contain less of each nutrient quantity than is shown on the label.

But while these dates are required and regulated by the FDA, they are still determined by the manufacturer, based on their product analyses and assuming that the handling, storage, preparation, and use instructions on the label are properly followed.

Per the FDA, infant formula should not be purchased or used after its “use by” date has passed.

What do the different expiration dates mean?

Just looking through my own kitchen, my eggs have a “use by” date, my tortellini has a “freeze by” date, my canned tomatoes have a “best if used by” date, my frozen peas have a “best by” date, and my orzo has a date with no qualifier.

And it’s kinda got me feeling like J Law 👇

But these dates do all actually have different meanings (although I am truly confounded by the orzo date with no qualifier).

According to the USDA:

🍓 Best if Used By / Best if Used Before indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality.

🍓 Sell By tells the store how long to display the product for sale. This date means absolutely nothing for us as consumers.

🍓 Use By is the last date recommended for use of the product while at peak quality. 

🍓 Freeze By is the date when a product should be used or frozen by to maintain peak quality.

It’s important to note here that with the exception of “use by” for infant formula, not one of these phrases denote safety.

Does the federal government recommend one type of food dating system over the others?

I actually find it super interesting that while the federal government is all but hands-off on food dating, they do have a recommended system: the Best if Used By date.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS, a department within USDA) recommends that manufacturers use “Best if Used By” because they’ve found that consumers do tend to understand that this means that the quality of the food will be best before the listed date but will not necessarily have gone bad by that date, which can help mitigate the food waste issues from before.

In my little self-guided kitchen tour, I did notice more “Best if Used By” dates than anything else, so there may be a shift towards using this across the board. California passed a law last year requiring standardization within the state: “Best if Used By” to indicate freshness and “Use By” to indicate safety concerns.

But for now, there’s no national standard for date labeling.

How do you know if food is still fresh past its “expiration” date?

Okay so at this point you might be staring at your screen thinking to yourself, “But, Krystina, if the expiration dates don’t actually tell me when my food is expired, how the heck am I supposed to know if my food is safe to eat??”

Excellent question, my friend 🤓

The only true way to tell if food has gone bad is to actually check for yourself.

• Is it off-colored?
• Is it smelly?
• Is it moldy?
• Is it slimy?

Interestingly, even USDA says that off-colored meat doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s gone bad, and even has a whole webpage dedicated to frequently asked questions about meat and poultry colors. 

So really, there’s a whole lot of truth in the age-old question, “does it pass the sniff test?”

💡 Fun Fact: There are two different types of bacteria that can grow on food - pathogenic and spoilage. Pathogenic bacteria can cause foodborne illnesses, while spoilage bacteria do not cause illness but make the food gross (such as an unpleasant taste, odor, or texture).

So if you’re not already, get comfy checking your food for weird odors, colors, or textures before tossing it right away. Your wallet will thank you 😉

P.S. Our 100% cotton Veggie Saver Bags keep even the trickiest of produce fresh for WEEKS (like, 2-3 weeks longer than your crisper drawer! And yes, really.). Grab a few for your fridge to extend the "best by" date of your produce even more!

 

---

 

Related:
Closed-Loop Landscaping: Have Your Yard and Eat It Too with Foodscaping
Zero Waste Kitchen Blog Posts