How to read food expiration dates without throwing away perfectly good groceries

Ever stare at a dusty can in your pantry or a questionable milk jug in the fridge, wondering if it's safe to eat or drink? You’re not alone and odds are, you've thrown out perfectly good food more than once.

Here's what most people don’t realize food expiration dates are almost never about safety. In fact, the only food product in the U.S. legally required to have an expiration date is infant formula.

Everything else? It’s mostly about taste and freshness nothing more.

Decoding the Labels

Manufacturers voluntarily stamp your groceries with terms like:

• Best if used by: The date when the product will taste its best.

• Sell by: A signal to stores for how long to display the product.

• Use by: Another freshness guide, not a safety deadline.

That “expired” cereal box in your pantry or those “outdated” eggs? They may still be completely fine.

How Long Is Food Safe?

The American Heart Association and USDA offer some general guidelines:

• Milk: Usually good up to 7 days past the sell-by date, if kept cold.

• Eggs: If stored in the coldest part of the fridge not the door they can last 3 to 5 weeks after purchase, even beyond the expiration date.

• Meat: Cook or freeze fresh meat within 3 to 5 days of purchase.

• Fish: Use within 1 to 2 days of buying it.

If you got sick after eating eggs but stored them correctly, chances are something else was the culprit.

The Truth About Canned Foods

That cryptic code on your can of beans isn’t an expiration date it’s what’s called closed dating, used for tracking and recall purposes. But don’t panic.

Most canned foods stay good for at least 2 years after purchase, often longer.

Watch out for:

• Bulging or heavily dented cans

• Mold or odd odors

• Leaking or rusted metal

When in doubt, trust your senses, not the printed date.

Don’t Waste It Use It

The average American household throws out over $1,300 of food per year, much of it because of misunderstood date labels. That's not just wasteful it's expensive.

Remember: expiration dates are about quality, not safety. Store food properly, pay attention to signs of spoilage, and stop letting labels run your kitchen.

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