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Premieres 5 November 2026 at 12pm UK time
Who's Tricking You? · Episode 16
Is That Food Really Out of Date?
'Use by' is about safety, 'best before' is about quality, and mixing them up costs a family of four about £1,000 a year in wasted food. The Old Fox explains the difference and why some supermarkets have dropped dates altogether. Tip: respect use by, use your senses for best before.
- 'Use by' dates are about food safety and food should not be eaten after them; 'best before' dates are about quality, and food is usually safe to eat after them if stored correctly (Food Standards Agency, 'Best before and use-by dates', food.gov.uk).
- In 2021 UK households threw away 6.4 million tonnes of food and drink, 4.7 million tonnes of which could have been eaten, costing around £250 per person or about £1,000 a year for a family of four (WRAP, household food waste study and press release 'Urgent action needed at scale to tackle food waste in our homes').
- In January 2022 Morrisons replaced 'use by' dates with 'best before' dates on most of its own-brand milk and encouraged customers to use a sniff test (ITV News, 9 January 2022; Food Manufacture, 10 January 2022).
- In July 2022 Marks & Spencer removed 'best before' dates from more than 300 fruit and vegetable lines (Retail Gazette, July 2022; PA Media, 17 July 2022).
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What the fox said
That yoghurt in your fridge. Is it really out of date?
Depends which date you're reading. And most of us don't check.
Use by is about safety. After that date, don't eat it. Even if it smells fine.
Best before is about quality. Taste. Texture. After that, it's usually still fine to eat, if it's been stored properly.
Mix them up, and perfectly good food goes in the bin.
British homes throw away around six and a half million tonnes of food a year. Most of it could have been eaten.
The waste charity WRAP put the cost at about a thousand pounds a year for a family of four.
And every binned yoghurt is one more you'll buy again.
Some shops have noticed. In 2022, one big supermarket swapped use by for best before on most of its own milk, and told customers to sniff it.
Another removed best-before dates from hundreds of fruit and vegetables.
So, best before? Look, smell, taste a little. Use by? Respect it. And check dates before you shop, not after.
A date on a packet is advice, or a warning. Learn which is which. Keep your nose to the wind.
Sources
- 'Use by' dates are about food safety and food should not be eaten after them; 'best before' dates are about quality, and food is usually safe to eat after them if stored correctly (Food Standards Agency, 'Best before and use-by dates', food.gov.uk).
- In 2021 UK households threw away 6.4 million tonnes of food and drink, 4.7 million tonnes of which could have been eaten, costing around £250 per person or about £1,000 a year for a family of four (WRAP, household food waste study and press release 'Urgent action needed at scale to tackle food waste in our homes').
- In January 2022 Morrisons replaced 'use by' dates with 'best before' dates on most of its own-brand milk and encouraged customers to use a sniff test (ITV News, 9 January 2022; Food Manufacture, 10 January 2022).
- In July 2022 Marks & Spencer removed 'best before' dates from more than 300 fruit and vegetable lines (Retail Gazette, July 2022; PA Media, 17 July 2022).
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