What's the real deal on expiration dates?

[Anonymous]

I'm kind of nutty about food safety and my husband thinks I take expiration dates too seriously. Can anyone point me to a reputable source on this topic?

I'm interested in knowing the difference between "sell by" and "use by" and how many days after "sell by" you get.

How many days can things stay open in the fridge, for example: salsa, cream cheese, creamy salad dressings, lunchmeat, shredded cheese

If you pull something out of the freezer to defrost, like bacon, and only use half the pack, how quickly do you need to cook and eat the other half that is defrosted but not cooked?

I have lots more questions, but I'll start with that.

[Anonymous]

Here you go: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/food-product-dating#:~:text=A%20%22Sell%2DBy%22%20date,infant%20formula%20as%20described%20below.

A "Best if Used By/Before" date indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
A "Sell-By" date tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management. It is not a safety date.
A “Use-By" date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. It is not a safety date except for when used on infant formula as described below.
A “Freeze-By” date indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.

With an exception of infant formula (described below), if the date passes during home storage, a product should still be safe and wholesome if handled properly until the time spoilage is evident (Chill: Refrigerate Promptly). Spoiled foods will develop an off odor, flavor or texture due to naturally occurring spoilage bacteria. If a food has developed such spoilage characteristics, it should not be eaten.

[Anonymous]

Your husband is right, and you are a bit nutty (food forum pun!).

As the PP showed, food is good until it is not.
It will pretty much present as bad when it is bad (looks or smells off).

The dates are there to protect the company (i.e. reminds the store/consumers) when to throw stuff out. But there are no "rules" about when stuff will make you sick. There are too many variables -- fridge temp, how contaminated things are after you open (did you use a clean spoon to scoop stuff?), etc.

You asked a question about taking stuff from freezer, but then gave an example of bacon... so that is 2 very different things. Bacon is salt cured so will last a much longer time than an uncured meat.

Basically, you can pretty much ignore the dates, and go by your senses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your husband is right, and you are a bit nutty (food forum pun!).

As the PP showed, food is good until it is not.
It will pretty much present as bad when it is bad (looks or smells off).

The dates are there to protect the company (i.e. reminds the store/consumers) when to throw stuff out. But there are no "rules" about when stuff will make you sick. There are too many variables -- fridge temp, how contaminated things are after you open (did you use a clean spoon to scoop stuff?), etc.

You asked a question about taking stuff from freezer, but then gave an example of bacon... so that is 2 very different things. Bacon is salt cured so will last a much longer time than an uncured meat.

Basically, you can pretty much ignore the dates, and go by your senses.

My bacon example was for bacon that I've stored in the freezer.

Anyway, good to know that it's more about how it looks/smells than an arbitrary date.