What does “expired” mean, anyway?
If you’ve made it to adulthood without taking a chance on some technically expired food, then are you even really living?
Expiration dates can vary widely on different types of food. Some products, like bananas, don’t even need expiration dates — they make it pretty clear when they’re ripe and when it’s time to toss them (or use them for a banana bread recipe). Not all grocery store staples are as self-aware as produce can be, however. Other products like yogurt, bread, and cans of soup have a different way of telling you when to eat them, usually via tiny, wildly difficult-to-find stamped dates on their packaging.
But who determines these expiration dates, anyway? And should you trust those people? You’d be forgiven for thinking they seem a little bit arbitrary.
We got to the bottom of all your burning food expiration date questions, thanks to nutritionist and cookbook author Maya Feller — and yes, you might feel a little bit vindicated when you learn about the less-than-concrete science behind these mysterious numbers.
How are expiration dates made and who decides when food “expires”?
So who decides when food expires, to begin with?
“Food manufacturers provide expiration dates for their food products,” Feller says. As for how they come to their decision: “These dates are applied at the manufacturer’s discretion.”
In other words, there isn’t an exact science to it — which might not be the most comforting answer when it comes to safely ingesting food. With that said, there are a few widely known factors that these manufacturers take into consideration. These factors include the length of time and the temperature at which a food is held during distribution and offered for sale, the characteristics of the food, and the type of packaging.
How to read food expiration dates
If you just ate a can of soup that’s a few months past its “best if used by” date, there’s no need to fear.
“Expiration dates are usually based on quality,” Feller says. “Manufacturers expect the quality and flavor of the food to decline and not be at their peak after some time, and the dates reflect their expectations. It is not necessarily the date by which the food is no longer safe for consumption.”
Here are a few different commonly used phrases that are recognized as expiration dates, along with explanations for what they indicate:
- “Best if Used By/Before” indicates when a product will be of the best flavor or quality
- “Sell-By” refers to how long the store should display the product for sale for inventory management (many items are still safe to eat after their sell-by date, and might have simply lost their peak flavor or aesthetic appeal)
- “Use-By” is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality
- “Freeze-By” is when a product should be frozen to maintain quality
“The USDA has emphasized that none of these are safety dates for food products,” Feller emphasizes.
Which expiration dates matter most, and which matter the least?
There are a few products where expiration dates are essential to keep in mind.
One such food is infant formula. “Infant formula must be used by the ‘Use-By’ date in order for it to actually contain the nutrients listed on the nutrition facts label,” Feller says.
Certain types of food with shorter shelf lives (like fresh produce, meats, and dairy products) should also be eaten before their expiration date. “These foods spoil faster than packaged products, and when they are spoiled, they are not safe for consumption as the risk for food poisoning increases,” Feller says.
If you’re not sure whether a certain type of food has a short shelf life, one easy way to approach this is to ask yourself, does it need to be refrigerated? If the answer is yes, then that means it has a shorter shelf life than something that can sit at room temperature indefinitely. Certain products (like jars of jam or condiments) can also switch from shelf-stable to being at risk of expiration once they’re opened.
What happens if you eat food that’s “expired”?
Let’s say you miss the fine print, and you eat some food that’s beyond the technical expiration date. It might not be time to rush to the emergency room just yet.
“Eating packaged food that is ‘expired’ may not produce a negative outcome,” Feller explains. “This is because the expiration dates are often the date when the quality of the food will start to decline. Most foods are generally OK to eat a couple of days past their expiration date.”
So then how do you know if something’s still good to eat?
Feller urges you not to exclusively rely on expiration dates in order to decide whether food is safe to consume or not. Instead, take it upon yourself to use contextual clues that indicate whether the food is spoiled or not.
Of course, as most people learn quickly, you don’t necessarily need an expiration date to know if something like a cup of yogurt has gone bad. “If there are visible signs of spoilage or a foul odor, the items should not be consumed,” Feller says.
Luckily, this really doesn’t take an expert’s eye. All you have to do is look for “change in color, consistency or texture, or smell,” Feller says.
And when in doubt? Toss the month-old yogurt cup and have a PB&J instead.
