Best If Used By, Sell By, and Use By: What to Check

The date on a package is useful, but you have to read the words beside it. A best-quality date, an instruction for the store, and directions for food after opening answer different questions.

Start with the whole label, then consider how the food has been handled. That approach helps you avoid treating every printed date as a countdown while also avoiding the opposite mistake: assuming a future date makes any package safe.

Read the phrase before the number

Look for the actual wording attached to the date. A number on the lid might be a quality date, a production code, or part of a lot identifier; the location alone does not explain what the manufacturer means.

The FDA's date-label explainer describes how manufacturers use dates to communicate quality and sometimes production or packing information. If the purpose is unclear, use the package's contact information rather than guessing how to decode an unfamiliar string.

A useful first move is to turn the package until you can read the date, the instruction, and the product name together. You may find that the opening directions printed on the back matter more to your next meal than the large date on the front.

What the common phrases tell you

Best if used by points to quality: the period when a product is expected to have its intended flavor or texture. It is not a promise that handling does not matter before that date or that every food becomes unsafe immediately afterward.

Sell by is aimed at retail display and inventory. It is not a complete instruction for how long you can keep the item at home, especially once you open it or prepare it.

Use by generally communicates a manufacturer's recommended use period for quality, but special products need special attention. University of Minnesota Extension explains these distinctions; follow a product's specific handling directions instead of translating every phrase into one universal rule.

There is an important exception: do not use infant formula after its use-by date. The FDA's formula guidance gives that instruction explicitly; a general pantry-date discussion is not a substitute for formula preparation or feeding directions.

Illustration: swipe left or right, or focus the diagram and use the arrow keys, to see every label.

Opening the package changes the question

An unopened package and an opened one are different situations. If the label says to refrigerate after opening or use the food within a stated period, retain those instructions and follow them.

For example, imagine a carton whose unopened quality date is several weeks away but whose label provides a shorter after-opening window. Writing the day you opened it helps you apply that second instruction; the distant printed date does not cancel it.

This is why an opening note should say what happened, rather than simply copying the package date. “Opened Monday” is useful information, while another unlabeled date on a lid may leave the next person unsure what it means.

Do not invent an after-opening deadline for a product that has no such direction visible. Check the manufacturer's current information or a food-specific official storage resource, using the exact type of food and whether it is opened, cooked, or still sealed.

A date cannot tell you the storage history

Food that requires refrigeration still requires it when the date looks generous. The FDA's storage guidance recommends a refrigerator at 40°F or below and explains that storage directions matter alongside dates.

That means a package left somewhere inappropriate is not cleared by the calendar. If you do not know how a perishable item was handled, find the relevant food-safety advice rather than adding a guessed number of days to the printed date.

Treat a damaged package as its own issue. A bargain label does not answer questions about a broken seal, leakage, or other damage, and you do not need to open or taste questionable food just to investigate a discount.

Keep the quality question and the safety question separate in your notes. “Will this cracker still be crisp?” asks something different from “Was this refrigerated food stored properly?” even when both conversations begin with a date.

Use your senses for warnings, not a safety certificate

Visible mold, an unexpected appearance, or an unusual smell can be a reason to discard food. Their absence cannot prove that food is safe; FDA notes that harmful organisms can be present without obvious spoilage.

Do not taste suspicious food to settle the question. A date-reading guide should help you gather the right information, not encourage an experiment with a package that worries you.

A familiar example is a condiment that has been transferred into an unlabeled jar. Seeing a clean lid tells you little about which product it was, when it was opened, or whether its original instructions required refrigeration.

The useful response is to keep better information next time. Preserve the label, record the opening event, and store the item according to its directions instead of trying to reconstruct its history from appearance alone.

Keep the words when you organize your pantry

Matching jars can make a shelf easier to scan, but the original package carries information you may need later. Keep the product name, ingredients and allergen statement, storage directions, lot code, and printed date available.

You might keep the label in a small folder, photograph it, or retain a clean section of the package near the container. Pick the method that you will actually maintain rather than building an elaborate system that stops after one shopping trip.

If you photograph a label, include the lot and date clearly enough to read when enlarged. A beautiful picture of the front panel is less helpful when the information you need is on the folded seam.

Avoid pouring a new purchase on top of an older remainder without thinking about identification. Separate containers, or finishing the earlier portion first, can make it easier to know which label and opening event belong to the food you are using.

Make a use-first area without inventing deadlines

A small area for foods you intend to use soon can simplify meal planning. It does not need a new safety rule: you are arranging your attention while continuing to follow each product's actual directions.

For example, an opened ingredient required by two meals this week can sit where you will see it, if that location meets its storage instructions. A shelf-stable unopened backup can remain in its normal place rather than competing for attention.

When you plan a meal around that use-first group, check what is genuinely available before buying another package. You may discover that you need a smaller replacement, a different recipe, or no purchase at all.

If several people share the kitchen, use plain labels that everyone understands. A note such as “opened Oct 28; see carton directions” is easier to interpret than a color code that only one person remembers.

A practical way to check one package

First, identify the exact food and read the date phrase. Next, locate storage and after-opening instructions, then ask whether you know the package's condition and handling history.

If you need more guidance, look up that food through FoodSafety.gov's FoodKeeper resource or contact the manufacturer. Do not use a storage chart for a different food simply because the containers look similar.

When a question concerns a recall, check the exact product and lot through the official notice. An unrelated date or a familiar brand name cannot establish whether your package is included.

You do not need to memorize every phrase in the grocery aisle. Keep the printed words, storage instructions, and opening history together, and you will have a much better starting point for deciding what to buy, what to use next, and when to ask for product-specific advice.