No. Selling food past the use-by date is banned in many regions; treat use-by as a safety limit and remove expired stock.
Shoppers see two common date labels on packs: “use-by” and “best before.” One is a safety line. The other is a quality cue. Mix them up and you risk unsafe food on the shelf, fines for the business, and lost trust. This guide breaks down what the labels mean, where sales after the date are banned, what retailers must do, and how to handle markdowns and waste without crossing the line.
What “Use-By” And “Best Before” Actually Mean
“Use-by” marks the last safe day to eat a perishable item under stated storage. Past that point, the pack may look fine, yet bacteria can reach risky levels. “Best before” tells you the period when taste and texture shine; once it passes, food may be dull but still safe if handled as directed. That split drives how the law treats post-date sales.
Quick Primer: Label Meanings And Sale Rules
Here’s a fast, scan-friendly table to anchor the rest of the guide.
| Label | What It Means | Can Retailers Sell After Date? |
|---|---|---|
| Use-By | Safety deadline for short-life foods (chilled meats, ready meals, fresh dairy). | No in many countries/regions; treated as unsafe past the date. |
| Best Before | Quality window; flavor/texture may dip after this point. | Often allowed if the item still meets legal requirements and is fit to eat. |
| Sell-By / Display-Until | Stock-rotation cue for staff, not a safety mark for shoppers. | Rules vary; the label itself doesn’t usually ban sale after the printed day. |
Selling Items After The Use-By Date: What The Law Says
Across the UK and the EU, food that passes a “use-by” date is legally treated as unsafe. That makes any sale a breach. Local trading standards teams have brought cases when short-life packs lingered on shelves. In Australia and New Zealand, food law also bars retail sale after a “use-by” mark. In the United States, federal rules are different: outside infant formula, date labels guide quality, not safety, and federal law doesn’t set a blanket ban on sale past the date. State rules or company policy may still restrict it.
Why Safety Regulators Draw A Hard Line On “Use-By”
Short-life chilled foods can grow listeria or other pathogens without any obvious sign. Smell and color won’t always warn you. A firm legal stop keeps risky items out of baskets and aligns retailers on clear stock control: pull before midnight of the date, don’t discount after.
Country-By-Country Snapshot
Rules use the same idea but with different legal hooks. Here’s a plain-English round-up so you can tune your store policy to the right rulebook.
United Kingdom
“Use-by” is a food-safety line. Selling past that date is an offence. “Best before” is about quality; sale can continue if the food is otherwise compliant and fit to eat. The Food Standards Agency guide on date labels explains the split and why “use-by” must be treated as a hard stop for safety.
European Union
EU food-information law defines “use-by” for highly perishable foods and deems food unsafe after that date. Member states enforce this through their national systems. That means no retail sale once the date passes, and strong expectations on stock checks and chill-chain control.
Australia
Food marked with a “use-by” cannot be sold after the date. “Best before” items may be sold if fit for consumption and correctly marked. State and territory inspectors can issue penalties when short-life stock slips through.
New Zealand
“Use-by” means a safety limit. Retail sale stops at the date, full stop. “Best before” is a quality call; sale can carry on if the food remains safe and legal to sell.
United States
With the exception of infant formula, federal law doesn’t treat common date marks as safety cut-offs. Most labels guide quality. Agencies encourage clear wording and less confusion, while states may add their own rules. Many chains still pull short-life packs right at the date as a risk policy.
Who Owns The Risk Inside A Store
Retailers carry the duty to keep unsafe items off the shelf. That calls for tight rotation, working chillers, and reliable date checks. Staff need simple rules: if it’s “use-by,” pull it before the day ends; don’t sticker it down; don’t move it to clearance. If it’s “best before,” you may discount with clear dating if the item is sound and the packaging and storage meet the label’s conditions.
Stock-Rotation Moves That Prevent Breaches
- Face and rotate by date every delivery; push older stock forward, newer stock back.
- Run daily sweeps for short-life chilled lines and log the checks.
- Automate alerts from back-office systems and handhelds for lines within 48 hours of the date.
- Train all staff to spot the label types fast; add shelf-edge prompts in chillers.
- Set a zero-tolerance rule for relabelling or stickering over printed dates.
How To Handle “Best Before” Markdown Bins Safely
Markdowns cut waste, but they need guardrails. Keep them away from “use-by” stock. If you discount a long-life item past “best before,” label the markdown clearly, keep packs intact, and store under the same temperature and hygiene rules as regular stock. Staff should have a short checklist and a defined cutoff for tired packaging, dented cans, or stale aromas. When in doubt, bin it.
Two Mid-Aisle Links You Can Trust
For plain guidance on the split between safety and quality in the UK, see the FSA page on best before and use-by dates. For the U.S. view on date labels and why most marks are about quality, read USDA’s Food Product Dating explainer. Both links open in a new tab.
Cold-Chain And Shelf-Life: Why Storage Rules Matter
Date labels assume the product stays at the right temperature and in the right pack. If chillers drift warm or lids don’t seal, shelf life shortens. Stores should keep logs for case temperatures, probe checks on ready-to-eat chilled lines, and rapid response when equipment alarms trip. Keep transport short for inter-store transfers, and use insulated totes for chilled back-of-house moves.
When “Display Until” Appears Beside A Date
Some packs show a staff-facing cue like “display until.” Treat it as a stocking aid, not a rule for shoppers. It sits behind the scenes to help rotation. Shelf tags or system prompts can mirror it, but the legal line for safety still sits with “use-by.”
Protecting Customers: Clear Labels And Staff Scripts
Frontline staff often field questions about dates. Give them a short script: “Use-by equals safety, we don’t sell past the date. Best before is about quality, so you may find discounted items if they’re still sound.” Keep returns easy when a shopper spots an out-of-date pack; thank them, pull the batch, and log the find.
Packaging Clues That Override A Date
If a vacuum pack balloons, a seal lifts, or a jar clicks open on light touch, treat it as unsafe even if the printed date is far out. Dates assume an intact pack. Broken packaging moves the risk line forward and sends the item to waste.
Waste, Donations, And The Line You Can’t Cross
Food charities work with retailers to redirect surplus. The rule is simple: no “use-by” items after the date. Many charities accept “best before” stock if it’s still fit to eat and labelled correctly. Keep a list of donation-ready lines, create weekly pulls, and document hand-offs. If there’s any safety doubt, dispose through your waste partner instead.
Markdown Baskets: What To Put In And What To Keep Out
- In: Long-life goods past “best before” that look, smell, and feel fine.
- Out: Chilled ready meals, raw meat, soft cheese, cut fruit, and any short-life pack carrying a “use-by.”
- Always check: Storage instructions; if the label says “keep refrigerated,” use a chilled bin or case, not ambient baskets.
Staff Training: Five Rules That Prevent Breaches
- Know the labels. “Use-by” stops sale; “best before” guides quality.
- Follow the clock. Pull “use-by” items before midnight of the date.
- Log checks. Daily sweeps for short-life lines, with initials and time stamps.
- Hold the line on relabelling. No stickers over dates, no pen edits.
- Escalate when systems fail. If chillers warm up, lock the doors on that run and call a manager.
Retail Playbook: From Delivery To Disposal
Turn the rules into a route that every shift can run. The second table below maps a clean flow from inbound to waste, with named owners for each step. Copy it into your store manual and adapt the timings to your trading hours.
| Stage | What To Do | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Goods In | Check dates on outer packs; reject mixed lots with short “use-by” unless pre-agreed. | Receiver |
| Putaway | Store by temperature zone; face oldest to front; scan into rotation system. | Back-of-house |
| Daily Sweep | Pull anything on its last day for staff canteen or waste; never move past the date. | Chilled lead |
| Markdowns | Only “best before” lines; clear sticker with date and price; keep storage conditions. | Duty manager |
| Donations | Set aside fit “best before” items; no “use-by” after the date; log volumes. | Donation lead |
| Waste | Bag and weigh; record SKU and reason; keep chiller waste separate if needed. | Closing team |
| Audit | Weekly sample of 25 SKUs; verify no date overrun in cases or on shelf. | Store manager |
Edge Cases That Trip Teams Up
Midnight Cutoff And Late-Night Trading
Late stores should hard-stop sales of “use-by” items at the end of the printed day. Some teams pull them in the last hour to avoid slip-ups at the till.
Opened Packs Behind The Counter
Once opened, life shortens. If you slice deli meat or open a tub for foodservice, date-code the container and set a short in-house limit in line with food-safety guidance for ready-to-eat chilled foods.
Freezing On Or Before The Date
Many packs allow freezing before the “use-by.” That move pauses the clock. If your store freezes stock for later in-house use, label the pack with the date frozen and follow any thaw-and-use windows on the product type.
What Good Compliance Looks Like On The Shop Floor
Shoppers should see tidy chillers, no sticker-over-date tricks, and clear markdown baskets for long-life goods only. Staff should lift out any short-life pack with a same-day date during the last sweep. Back-of-house, managers should keep one binder or digital log that shows date checks, temperature logs, and any corrective actions taken that day.
Bottom Line For Retailers
“Use-by” is a safety line and a sales stop in many parts of the world. “Best before” leaves room for discounts and donations when the food stays sound. Build simple routines, keep logs, and give staff the words to explain the difference to shoppers. That’s how you cut waste without breaking the law—or trust.