Yes, eating food after the expiration date is often safe for “best if used by” items; avoid spoiled foods and never use infant formula past “use by.”
Most dates on packages speak to quality, not safety. The tricky part is knowing which date is which, how the food was stored, and what the food is. This guide gives plain-English rules that help you decide fast, cut waste, and stay safe at the table.
Can I Eat Food After Expiration Date? Rules By Label
Different phrases appear on packages. Some hint at peak taste. Others are stricter. Use the table below as your first checkpoint before you open the fridge or pantry.
| Label | What It Means | Can You Eat After Date? |
|---|---|---|
| Best If Used By | Quality date for flavor/texture on most packaged foods. | Often yes, if stored well and no spoilage signs. |
| Sell By | Retail stock control date; not a consumer safety date. | Often yes; check storage and freshness cues. |
| Use By (non-infant) | Peak quality by maker; not a safety date for most foods. | Sometimes; trust cold chain and spoilage checks. |
| Use By (infant formula) | Regulatory date tied to nutrition and safety. | No. Do not feed after this date. |
| Freeze By | Quality window for freezing at home. | Food can be frozen before this date and kept longer. |
| Pack Date | Production date, common on canned foods and eggs. | Look to storage and can condition, not the number alone. |
| No Date | Some foods carry no open date. | Rely on storage, time in home, and spoilage cues. |
| Deli/Prepared | Store-printed dates on cut meats, salads, or meals. | Short window; when past date, be extra cautious. |
These phrases are not unified across all products. In the U.S., agencies encourage the “Best if Used By” wording to flag quality, while noting that dates (except on infant formula) are not safety deadlines. See the USDA’s date-label explainer and the FDA-USDA notice on date-label clarity for the underlying rules.
How To Read Dates Without Wasting Food
Start with the label type, then weigh three things: food category, storage, and signs of change. Dry pasta stored cool and dry ages far better than a chicken salad. Milk that stayed below 40°F keeps better than milk that rode home warm.
When the label says “best if used by,” think taste first. Stale crackers are a quality loss; they’re not the same risk profile as a sour deli salad. A “sell by” tag is for store rotation. That carton can still be fine at home if it stayed cold.
Why Dates Differ By Food Type
Some foods support rapid bacterial growth; others don’t. Fresh meat, seafood, cut melon, soft cheeses, and ready-to-eat deli items sit in the higher-risk group. Dry goods, canned items, whole produce, and pure fats sit lower. Freezing halts growth but doesn’t fix spoilage that already occurred.
Cold Chain And Your Kitchen
Safety isn’t just the date stamp. It’s time and temperature. A steady 40°F (4°C) or below in the fridge and 0°F (-18°C) in the freezer slows or halts growth. Warm trucks, long errands, a crowded fridge, or power loss all shorten safe time at home.
Fast Checks For Spoilage
Use your senses, but never taste to confirm safety. If it smells sour when it shouldn’t, feels sticky or slimy, looks discolored or moldy (beyond safe trims), or the package hisses or bulges, toss it. With canned food, any swelling, severe dent on seams, leaking, or rust that compromises the can means discard.
Open Vs. Unopened
Unopened, factory-sealed items often last longer than the same item once opened. Air, moisture, and cross-contact speed change. After opening, go by the shorter home-storage window from your fridge list and your own label for the open date.
High-Risk Foods: When A Passed Date Raises Risk
Some categories deserve a strict stance when the date is past and the clock or temperature control is shaky:
- Fresh Meat And Poultry: Past date with any off-odor, tackiness, or gray tones? Discard. If kept cold and sealed with no spoilage signs, cook soon or freeze.
- Seafood: Short window and fast change. Past date plus any fishy odor or soft flesh? Discard.
- Deli Meats And Salads: Listeria risk rises over time in the fridge. If past date or open more than a few days, be cautious.
- Soft Cheeses: Bloomy rinds and fresh cheeses don’t keep long once opened. Visible mold on soft cheese means discard.
- Sprouts, Cut Melon, Cut Leafy Greens: High moisture and surface area speed growth; use quickly and keep cold.
- Cooked Leftovers: Time starts at cool-down. Store shallow, chill fast, reheat hot.
Shelf-Stable Foods: When A Date Is About Quality
Many pantry items are safe long past a date if the package is sound. That includes canned vegetables, beans, tomatoes, soups, nut butters, grains, rice, pasta, cereal, crackers, sugar, and salt. Texture and flavor fade first. If a can is dent-free and not bulging or leaking, the contents can be safe for years. Watch for off smells, darkening that signals quality loss, or a “pffft” from a compromised seal.
Oils, Flour, Nuts, And Spices
These go rancid or stale over time. Rancid smells sharp or crayon-like. While rancidity is a quality problem, toss food that smells off, since flavor and nutrition dive. Store cool and dark; consider the freezer for nuts and whole-grain flours.
Canned Food Safety: Dents, Bulges, And Rust
For cans, packaging condition matters as much as the date. Skip any bulging end, severe side-seam dent, leak, or heavy rust. A light, shallow dent away from seams is usually fine, but when the seam line is bent or crushed, don’t risk it. If you open a can and sense abnormal odor, spurting liquid, or foaming, discard the food and clean the area.
Leftovers, Meal Prep, And Freezing
Dates on ingredients don’t reset risk after cooking. Chill prepared food quickly in shallow containers, label with the open or cook date, and eat within a short window. Freeze for longer storage; ice crystals and dryness hurt texture, not safety. Reheat to a rolling hot center, and don’t re-chill what’s been reheated to the table.
Quick Keep-Or-Toss Cues By Category
Use this table late in the decision path: label type checked, storage confirmed, now you need a plain cue. These aren’t strict day counts; they’re practical flags that help prevent risk.
| Food | Often Still Okay After Date If… | Toss When You See… |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | Unopened, held at 40°F or below; clean smell. | Sour odor, curdling, swollen cap, warm storage. |
| Yogurt | Unopened, cold; slight whey separation is normal. | Gas build-up, mold, sharp sourness beyond normal tang. |
| Fresh Meat | Cold, no odor, firm texture. | Sticky film, gray-green hue, off smell. |
| Deli Meats | Sealed and cold; short time after opening. | Slime, sour odor, past-date plus long open time. |
| Bread | Dry, no mold; staling is quality only. | Mold spots; then discard whole loaf. |
| Canned Goods | Can sound, no bulge, no severe dents. | Bulging ends, leaks, spurting, heavy rust, seam dents. |
| Dry Pasta/Rice | Dry, no pests; taste loss is quality. | Moisture, off odor, infestation. |
| Hard Cheese | Firm; trim large surface mold at a safe margin. | Mold throughout or heavy soft spots. |
Infant Formula: The One Hard Stop
For infant formula, the “use by” date is a firm limit tied to nutrition and safety. Don’t feed formula past that date, and don’t buy cans that are close to expiring if you can’t use them in time. Store as labeled, and never keep mixed formula at room temp.
Power Outage, Warm Fridge, Or Long Errands?
Time without cold matters. If the fridge sat above 40°F for hours, cut risk by discarding perishable items such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, and cut produce. Don’t taste to test. When the cold chain breaks, the date on the label can’t save the item.
Can I Eat Food After Expiration Date? Real-World Flow
Use this quick sequence when you hit a borderline item:
- Read The Exact Phrase. “Best if used by” points to quality. “Sell by” is for stores. “Use by” is stricter, and for infant formula it’s a firm stop.
- Confirm Storage. Was it kept cold and clean, or dry and sealed for shelf items?
- Check The Package. Bulges, leaks, broken seals, or deep seam dents on cans are deal breakers.
- Check The Food. Off odors, slime, fizzing, odd colors, or mold that doesn’t fit the food style? Discard.
- When Unsure, Don’t Taste. Toss it and move on.
Cut Waste Without Raising Risk
You can save money and reduce waste while staying safe. Aim for steady cold, shorter home storage for high-risk foods, and smarter portioning. Pantry items last a long time; rotate and plan meals so the short-window items don’t sit forgotten.
Label, Rotate, And Store
- Date The Day You Open. A marker on lids trims guesswork.
- First In, First Out. Bring older items forward on the shelf.
- Keep The Fridge At 40°F Or Below. Use a simple appliance thermometer.
- Freeze In Flat Packs. Faster chill and thaw means better quality.
- Avoid Overcrowding. Cold air needs room to circulate.
Two Clear Truths Behind The Rules
First, except for infant formula, most dates guide quality. Second, storage conditions decide the real window. That’s why one family can safely finish a yogurt a few days past date, while another must toss the same item after a warm commute.
What This Article Uses And Why You Can Trust It
The stance here follows U.S. agency guidance and industry standards. The USDA explains that open dates, aside from infant formula, point to quality and that “Best if Used By” helps prevent waste. The FDA and USDA also support this shared wording for clarity across packages. These sources shape the label rules above, the keep-or-toss cues, and the strict stop for formula.
Answers To Two Common Edge Cases
Eggs With A Julian Date
Cartons can show a pack date as a three-digit number. That’s not an eat-by deadline. Freshness still comes down to time, temperature, and how you handle the eggs at home.
Frozen Food Past Its Date
Freezing stops bacterial growth, so safety holds if the food stayed solidly frozen. Texture can suffer; ice crystals and freezer burn blunt quality. Cook thoroughly after thawing, and don’t refreeze thawed, warmed food.
Putting It All Together
So, can I eat food after expiration date? Often yes for items with “best if used by,” when storage has been sound and the food shows no spoilage. For a passed date on high-risk items, for any swelling can, or when the fridge ran warm, choose the safe side. And for infant formula, the “use by” line is a hard stop.
To support the label rules above and the quality-not-safety nature of most dates, see the USDA date-label infographic. For current policy moves toward consistent “Best if Used By” wording, review the joint FDA-USDA date-label notice.
With that mix of label knowledge, storage habits, and simple checks, you’ll waste less and eat with confidence. Keep this page handy the next time a “past date” package stares you down from the shelf.