Research Guides: Food Waste and Composting: Sell-By, Best-By, and Expiration Date Confusion

Know Your Food Labels

The most recognized food labels in the United States are:

Sell-By: This tells the store how long to display the product for inventory management
Best if Used By/Before: This date indicates when a product will have the best quality or taste
Use-By: This date lists the last recommended date to use the product while at peak quality
Freeze-By: This date indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality

Scholarly Articles

Is This Still OK to Eat?

One major reason why food fit for consumption is disposed of is due to confusion regarding the different food product dating phrases like "sell-by," "best-by" and expiration dates utilized by the US food system. As per the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS,) there is no federally mandated, uniform, or universally accepted description used for food labels in the United States with the one exception being infant formula. Because of this, there are a variety that are then used, all of which DO NOT indicate safety or purchase dates for products.

Food for Thought

Label Confusion

Resources on Food Labels

To learn more about how to differentiate various food labels to cut down on your food waste, visit these resources below!