There is a lot of speculation on whether or not food labelling is truthful and whether or not we should be following the advice given. There still appears to be a great deal of people who do the sniff test when it comes to food. If it smells all right eat it, if it smells bad throw it in the bin. Despite knowing where you are coming from this is in fact not the way to be doing things. You very much should be paying attention to the labels on your food, they are after all put there for your own good. 

Bacteria on food can begin to grow even when it is still smelling fresh which is why best before and use by dates are incorporated onto packaging. There are still a great deal of food poisoning cases reported every year and it is thought that a large proportion of these will be down to not paying enough attention to food labelling. Part of the problem of course is that some people still don’t understand the labelling they are presented with and are confused by the information given to them. If you feel like you might be one of these people then please continue to read this article. 

Best before dates:

Best before dates refer to the quality of a product and not the safety of it, therefore meaning that you can still eat a product that is passed its best before date. Although safe to eat the taste and texture of the food might be somewhat different to its original state but by no means is it unsafe. Best before dates are usually found on frozen, dried or tinned foods. 

Use by dates:

Use by dates are the date a food should be eaten and anything eaten after its use by date could put anybody who eats it at risk of food poisoning. Those who are most likely to be affected by a food with bacteria growing on it include the elderly, children and anybody who has a health condition. It is therefore extremely important to ensure that this advice is followed, particularly when it comes to poultry, fish, meat and dairy products.  In order for use by dates to be effective the advice given on how to store the food should be followed too. The same goes for cooking and eating instructions as failure to do so will completely void the use by date. Food that is frozen enables you to eat food outside of the use by date, however only food suitable for freezing should be frozen, and instructions after defrosting should be followed. 

There is a lot of speculation on whether or not food labelling is truthful and whether or not we should be following the advice given. There still appears to be a great deal of people who do the sniff test when it comes to food. If it smells all right eat it, if it smells bad throw it in the bin. Despite knowing where you are coming from this is in fact not the way to be doing things. You very much should be paying attention to the labels on your food, they are after all put there for your own good. 

Bacteria on food can begin to grow even when it is still smelling fresh which is why best before and use by dates are incorporated onto packaging. There are still a great deal of food poisoning cases reported every year and it is thought that a large proportion of these will be down to not paying enough attention to food labelling. Part of the problem of course is that some people still don’t understand the labelling they are presented with and are confused by the information given to them. If you feel like you might be one of these people then please continue to read this article. 

Best before dates:

Best before dates refer to the quality of a product and not the safety of it, therefore meaning that you can still eat a product that is passed its best before date. Although safe to eat the taste and texture of the food might be somewhat different to its original state but by no means is it unsafe. Best before dates are usually found on frozen, dried or tinned foods. 

Use by dates:

Use by dates are the date a food should be eaten and anything eaten after its use by date could put anybody who eats it at risk of food poisoning. Those who are most likely to be affected by a food with bacteria growing on it include the elderly, children and anybody who has a health condition. It is therefore extremely important to ensure that this advice is followed, particularly when it comes to poultry, fish, meat and dairy products.  In order for use by dates to be effective the advice given on how to store the food should be followed too. The same goes for cooking and eating instructions as failure to do so will completely void the use by date. Food that is frozen enables you to eat food outside of the use by date, however only food suitable for freezing should be frozen, and instructions after defrosting should be followed.