Almost $3,000 a year. That is what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the average family of four spends on food that never gets eaten. The EPA adds that one-third of all food in the United States goes uneaten, which makes the date stamped on a package worth reading correctly.
Dates on food packages are often read as deadlines. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service lays out what four common labels mean in its food product dating guide, and the agency says plainly that none of the four is a safety date, with one exception covered below for infant formula.
1. Best if Used By or Before: A Flavor and Quality Date
The USDA says this label indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality, and that it is not a purchase or safety date.
Clemson University’s Home and Garden Information Center handles pantry times the same way. Its pantry storage factsheet says its times are about quality, not safety, and that flavor and texture decline as food ages, especially when heat or humidity shorten the stretch.
A cereal box one week past its date is simply a cereal box that may taste a little less crisp. Frenzhub has a guide to seasonal storage practices for household storage.
2. Sell-By: A Message to the Store, Not the Shopper
According to the USDA, a Sell-By date tells the store how long to display the product for sale, and it exists for inventory management. The agency says it is not a safety date either.
That means the date on a carton at the dairy case is guidance for whoever restocks the shelf. A shopper who picks the carton with the latest date is not getting a different product, only more time on the clock.
Craftingyourhome.com has a related list of habits of people who never seem to run out of money.
3. Use-By: The Last Date for Peak Quality
The USDA defines Use-By as the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. Like the others, it is not a safety date, with one exception: infant formula.
The date itself is not a legal requirement for most items. The agency says product dating is generally not required by federal regulations. The single exception is infant formula, where a Use-By date is required.
The EPA’s wasted food at home guide adds a storage note worth remembering when a date approaches: refrigerators should be set to maintain a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Fridge temperature matters alongside any date on the carton.
4. Freeze-By: A Reminder to Move Food Into the Freezer
A Freeze-By date is the least familiar of the four. The USDA says it indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality, and it is not a purchase or safety date.
It works as a nudge: if a package will not be opened by that date, the freezer is the place to keep its quality.
The EPA also suggests labeling frozen food with the contents and the date, and Frenzhub has a walk-through on how to freeze fresh green beans to enjoy all year.
Stamps That Are Not on the List of Four
Two other stamps are easy to confuse with the four above. The USDA says closed or coded dates are applied by manufacturers to identify the date and time of production, and are not meant for shoppers to read as a Best if Used By date.
Eggs have their own rules. The USDA says a pack date is the day the eggs were washed, graded and placed in the carton, and that the Expiration, or EXP, date on eggs is governed by state egg laws rather than federal regulation.
Wikipedia’s entry on expiration dates gives general background on how expiration and best-before wording is used, which helps explain why a shelf of mixed labels can feel confusing.
Making the Dates Work in a Weekday Routine
The EPA says the average family of four could save up to $56 a week by throwing away less food. A simple routine uses dates as a schedule rather than a verdict: place newer packages behind older ones, write a purchase date on items without one, and move anything with a Freeze-By date into the freezer on shopping day.
Michigan State University Extension uses the same first-in, first-out idea for the pantry, Frenzhub has 26 easy tips for saving money fast, and craftingyourhome.com has a piece on things that do not belong on a kitchen counter.
The EPA also lists planning tips for shoppers: make a list based on how many meals will be eaten at home, note quantities for each item, and buy in large quantities only when the food will be used before it spoils.
None of this makes a spoiled smell or a bulging can acceptable. The USDA labels are about quality, and anything that looks, smells or feels off belongs in the trash regardless of what the date says.
The takeaway is modest: a date is information, and information is more useful when the reader knows who wrote it. Best if Used By is the maker talking about taste, Sell-By is the store talking to itself, Use-By is the peak-quality limit, and Freeze-By is a nudge toward the freezer.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Matti Blume – CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons
