What's the tea on best before dates: 6 ways they help you at home & while shopping

Best before dates get a lot of attention these days, including being subject to misinformation (spoiler alert: they are about freshness, not safety, and are not being eliminated). So what's the real tea on best before dates?

1. They help you check it out before you chuck it out

We are working to dispel the myth that you can't eat food past its best before date. So tell your friends and family: best before dates are about when a food is at its peak in terms of flavour and freshness, not food safety. You can check it out before you chuck it out by:

• opening the package and looking for signs of spoilage, such as mould or a bad odor
• checking to see if the product was stored properly
• considering how long it has been opened (if it's already open)
• considering the type of food, and keeping in mind that some foods will become unsafe before they spoil so follow safe food storage guidelines.

You may often find that you can use something beyond its best before date to help reduce your food waste.

Keep in mind, if your food product has an expiry date, then that is the last day it can be safely consumed. Expiry dates are required on only a small number of specific foods, such as infant formula and meal replacements.

2. They help you know how long something has been in the back of your fridge or pantry

Everyone has had an item in their fridge or pantry that they pulled out and were surprised to see a best before date from years ago. Without that date, you might not realize how long it has been there.

3. They give you a point of reference

Best before dates help you determine when a product is at its freshest by providing a valuable point of reference.

Without a best before date, you would need to mark products yourself when you bring them home.

4. They can result in savings at the grocery store

More foods include best before dates than required by Canadian law. The food industry can choose to put a best before date, and many do, which often results in sales on products whose best before dates are near.

Foods with an anticipated shelf life of more than 90 days are not required to be labelled with a best before date or storage information. This is because these foods are generally considered to be preserved and many are shelf stable. Examples include most canned foods, many dry foods such as pasta, and foods that are sold frozen.

5. They help industry keep tabs on the foods they produce

Best before dates have been part of Canadian regulations for over 20 years. During this time, they have become part of food industry best practices when it comes to:

• Rotating stock
• Being voluntarily used by some industry members as part of lot codes to strengthen traceability and help them implement recalls faster
• Informing purchasers in the food supply chain about the expected quality and freshness of the food.

6. The data shows they should be kept

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is gathering information through public opinion research and stakeholder engagement to determine how the removal of best before dates would impact consumers and industry.

Preliminary data shows that making changes or removing best before dates would have an economic impact for industry, and the cost would likely be passed on to consumers.

While reducing your food waste at home may be easy, best before dates are estimated to represent only a small portion of overall food waste as it is a complex issue related to many factors at all stages of the food supply chain.

Share the tea with your family and friends

Some confusion still remains among consumers regarding the difference between best before dates and expiry dates. So don't keep this tea to yourself. Follow us on social media and help spread the word to your family and friends. Or share it in person over some tea that's past its best before date; tea is another food that does not require a best before date under the regulations and can be used for years!

Learn more

• Date labelling on pre-packaged foods
• Food safety for consumers
• Safe food storage
• Quick tips to cut back on food waste
• Three facts about best before dates that can save you money
• Understanding the date labels on your food (CFIA podcast)
• Food labelling for consumers (CFIA)
• Find out where to report a food complaint or concern (CFIA)