The "sell by" date doesn't mean it has to be cooked and eaten by that date - that wouldn't make any practical sense. There is leeway built into the sell by dates.
When I was a kid, I remember learning that milk was supposed to be fresh for at least a week after the sell by date. I remember my mom taking it back to the store for a replacement one time when it didn't last the whole week.
You can read about it here:
http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/aa102102b.htm