What does “Best Before” mean?

Reading labels to prevent food waste

Fighting food waste starts with rethinking our relationship with food consumption, beginning with what we buy, which foods we decide to put on the cart and which ones we discard on the grocer’s shelf.

If you don’t grow your own, and don’t solely rely on market’s goodies, then there is one sequence of digits that are small but incredibly powerful in dictating our purchasing behaviour: the “Best Before” label.  

Let’s clarify: "Best Before" is not a safety deadline. It's a quality guide. (europarl.europa.eu)

Think of it as the food's promise of peak flavour, texture, and nutritional value. After this date, the food might not be at its absolute best, but it is often still perfectly good to eat. This is fundamentally different from the "Use By" date, which is a critical safety warning, primarily found on highly perishable foods like ready meals, meat, fish, and dairy.

Confusion comes with a cost

This misunderstanding carries a high cost. In the EU, an estimated 10% of 88 million tonnes of food waste is linked directly to date labeling, and is unnecessarily tossed in the bin (efsa.europa.eu).

That’s millions of tonnes of edible food discarded each year, often still sealed, because a quality suggestion is misinterpreted as an expiration command. Throwing away food isn’t just a loss of nutrition; it wastes all the resources, energy, and emissions that went into producing them, accounting to about the 16% of all greenhouses gases released by the European food system (europarl.europa.eu).

Give credit to your senses

For "Best Before" products, your eyes, nose, and taste buds are your best guides. Are the crackers past their date but still crisp? Enjoy them. Pasta’s looking good? Time to put that sauce in the pan. 

"People nowadays eat with their minds, not with their bodies" wrote Fukuoka in 1978. Activating your senses is part of reclaiming a more organic experience with food and nurturing. Listening to one's body (understanding your cravings and needs), eating seasonal produce in respect of nature's rhythms, and cutting down ultra-processed (aka hyper-manufactured, industrialised) foods are core habits for sustainable consumption.

We can reduce food waste and lower our environmental impact while having wholesome meals - as our Wasteless Dinners always remind us.

Here comes the crucial distinction with the “Use by” date, which, as mentioned, concerns food safety. Foods with this label shouldn’t be consumed after that specific date, even if your senses suggest otherwise, because not all harmful bacteria can be detected. 

By being mindful of labelling and understanding this simple distinction, we can:

• Drastically cut household waste.

• Save money by consuming what we already own.

• Reduce our environmental footprint, one rescued meal at a time.

  
  

The "Best Before" date isn't a stop sign, but a reminder to use our judgment. Before you toss, pause. Assess, and trust your senses. Together, we can ensure that "Best Before" keeps protecting quality, not creating waste.