Food Safety - Read the Label
The safety of our members' products remains paramount for industry and continues
to be the top priority for FDF. When it comes to the safety of foods consumed in
the home, smell, colour and texture alone are not sufficiently reliable
indicators of a food's usability or safety. You can't smell salmonella or listeria, but
if you're not careful both can make you very ill.
Food manufacturers use date labels to inform consumers when a food is safe to
eat. The most important labels for consumers to look for are 'Use by' and 'Best
Before'.
- 'Use By' dates are used for foods which are highly perishable and indicate the
date after which food is considered unsafe to eat.
- 'Best Before' dates are used for foods with a longer shelf life and indicate
the date up to which food can be expected to be at its best quality.
Other labels that are sometimes put on food products are 'Sell By' and 'Display
Until' dates. These are generally put on products by supermarkets for stock
rotation purposes, and should not be confused with 'Use By' and 'Best Before' dates,
which are to inform consumers about the shelf life of products and the safe
period within which a product should be eaten.
Last reviewed: 08 Jun 2010