Confused by best-before dates on food packages? Here’s a primer | Canada Voices

Ever wondered what to do with a tub of yogurt or a box of crackers after its best-before date has passed? Is it still okay to eat or should you toss it?

Turns out, for many Canadians, the answer isn’t always clear.

According to a 2025 online national survey conducted by Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, 30 per cent of Canadians don’t know what the best-before date means.

The survey, commissioned by Too Good To Go, a global food waste reduction company, also found that four out of 10 Canadians throw away food past the best-before date even when it’s still edible.

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Here’s what best-before dates – and other food date labels – really mean.

Best-before date

Best-before dates on prepackaged foods are quality indicators, not food safety dates. Yet according to the 2025 Dalhousie/Too Good To Go survey, 63 per cent of Canadians always or often rely solely on best-before dates to determine whether food is safe to eat.

A best-before date indicates how long a properly stored, unopened food product is expected to maintain its freshness, flavour, texture and nutritional value.

In Canada, most prepackaged foods with a shelf life of 90 days or less are required to have a best-before date. Some must also include proper storage instructions if they require conditions other than normal room temperature.

Prepacked foods that have a shelf life longer than 90 days, such as canned goods, dry pasta and frozen foods, do not require best-before dates. Even so, many food companies and retailers provide this information voluntarily.

Can I still eat a food after its best-before date?

Best-before dates apply to unopened products only. Once opened, a food’s shelf life may change depending on storage conditions and other factors.

That doesn’t necessarily mean a food should be discarded once its best-before date has passed. If it’s been stored and handled properly, it may still be good to eat.

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Many dairy foods, for example, can often be consumed for a period beyond the best-before date if they’ve been continuously refrigerated. Milk can often last an additional seven days, yogurt seven to 10 days and hard cheese several weeks.

Packaged bread, bagels and muffins can be consumed for several days beyond their best-before dates, provided they don’t show any signs of mould.

Dried pantry foods – such as rice, pasta, ready-to-eat breakfast cereal and crackers – can often be eaten months after their best-before dates if stored properly, although their flavour, texture and nutritional value may gradually decline.

These are practical guidelines, not guarantees. Assess a food’s appearance, smell, taste (if appropriate) and storage history to determine its quality. Discard any product that shows signs of spoilage.

Treat these foods with caution

While best-before dates are not safety dates, some foods are riskier because they readily support the growth of harmful bacteria.

Take extra care with fresh meat, poultry, fish and seafood, as well as deli meats, prepared salads, fresh prepared meals and cut fruits and vegetables. These foods can become unsafe even when refrigerated. Store them properly and consume them as soon as possible. Don’t judge their safety solely by the best-before date.

While appearance, smell and taste can help identify obvious spoilage and quality changes, your senses cannot reliably detect harmful bacteria or toxins. When in doubt, throw it out.

When to toss, regardless of best-before date

Discard food if it smells sour, rancid or otherwise unusual, if it has visible mould or if the container is swollen, leaking or damaged. If the food was stored improperly (for example, left unrefrigerated when it required refrigeration) it should also be thrown out.

Expiration dates

An expiration date is required only on certain foods that have strict compositional and nutritional specifications that may no longer be met after the expiration date.

Formulated liquid diets, meal replacements, nutritional supplements, infant formula and foods for very low-calorie diets (available only from a pharmacist) must carry an expiration date and should not be consumed after it has passed.

Other date labels to know

In Canada, retailers may use a “packaged on” date instead of a best-before date for certain foods packaged and sold at the same retail location, such as fresh meats, deli items, prepared meals and baked goods. It should be accompanied by information about how long the product will remain fresh (for example, “best consumed within seven days of packaging”).

The “packaged on” date tells you when the food was packaged for sale, but it doesn’t necessarily indicate when the item was prepared. Still, it can help you compare products for freshness.

A “prepared on” date indicates when a food was prepared or assembled. You often see it on salads, sandwiches, meals and soups made in-store. It helps you assess freshness but, like the “packaged on” date, is not by itself an indicator of safety.

Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based private practice dietitian, is director of food and nutrition at Medcan.