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Read the date label before discarding food

In the EU and UK, ‘best before’ describes quality; ‘use by’ concerns safety.

I commit
Miniature scene: Discard a suitable packet just because of its best-before date.
Discard a suitable packet just because of its best-before date
Miniature scene: Read the date type and storage guidance before deciding.
Read the date type and storage guidance before deciding
01 / Why this can help

Your scenario, drawn

Food eaten instead of discarded

Food eaten instead of discardedFood otherwise discarded: 3 kg food; Additional waste after the change: 0 kg food; Annual difference: -3 kg of edible food wastedIN ONE YEARFood otherwise discarded3 kg foodAdditional waste after the change0 kg food03 kg food

Same scale, starting at zero. Change the assumptions to compare the two annual totals.

Sources and scope →
Read the values
Food otherwise discarded3 kg food
Additional waste after the change0 kg food
Annual difference-3 kg of edible food wasted
02 / One possible next step

Check one correctly stored package: is its date about quality or safety? Keep storage instructions and never extend a use-by date.

03 / Sources and scope

Context-dependent outcome

What the evidence supports

In the EU and UK, ‘best before’ describes quality; ‘use by’ concerns safety. Understanding the distinction can prevent suitable food being discarded solely because its best-before date has passed. Follow storage and after-opening instructions, and count only food actually eaten.

Boundary of the claim

A best-before label does not make damaged, spoiled or incorrectly stored food safe. Do not eat food past a safety-based use-by date or use taste to test safety. Date terminology varies by country; follow the relevant local guidance.

What this simulation calculates

Illustrative assumption: 250 g of eligible food is eaten rather than discarded once monthly for 12 months, with no additional waste. This is 3 kg in the example, not a research average. Suitability is a prerequisite; these inputs do not test food safety.

Published coefficients and calculation references

  • European and UK guidance distinguishes quality-based best-before dates from safety-based use-by dates. No grams saved, extra safe days or health effect is inferred from that distinction.

    Food date labelling ↗

  1. Institutional guidance · European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) · 2025

    Food date labelling

    Consulted section (original language): Sections What is a ‘use by’ date? and What is a ‘best before’ date? (web text lines 258–265)

    Consultation: Webpage / full text

  2. Institutional guidance · Autorità europea per la sicurezza alimentare (EFSA) · 2025

    Etichette alimentari

    Consulted section (original language): The two sections explaining the Italian date wordings (web text lines 253–266)

    Consultation: Webpage / full text

  3. Scientific assessment · EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ); Konstantinos Koutsoumanis et al. · 2020

    Guidance on date marking and related food information: part 1 (date marking)

    Consulted section (original language): Section 3.4, Fig. 2; section 3.5, conditions for food past best before; web text lines 863–872 and 996–1002

    Consultation: full article; relevant sections read · DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2020.6306

  4. Scientific assessment · EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ); Konstantinos Koutsoumanis et al. · 2021

    Guidance on date marking and related food information: part 2 (food information)

    Consulted section (original language): Section 3.2.1, decision tree for time limit after opening; web text lines 569–595

    Consultation: full article; relevant sections read · DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2021.6510

  5. Institutional guidance · UK Government, GOV.UK

    Understanding food labelling: Best before and use-by dates

    Consulted section (original language): Use-by dates and Best before dates sections; web text lines 72–100

    Consultation: Webpage / full text

Avoid counting the same change twice

Sources reviewed:

Report a data issue

Other possibilities in this area

Food
Miniature scene: A meal based on plant foods.Make one day more plant-basedMiniature scene: The same quantity of loose apples.Choose loose produce when it worksMiniature scene: Pack the leftovers to take home promptly.Take home the food you will eat
universalizable.Food / 01

Read the date label before discarding food

Miniature scene: Discard a suitable packet just because of its best-before date. Miniature scene: Read the date type and storage guidance before deciding.
Discard a suitable packet just because of its best-before dateRead the date type and storage guidance before deciding

Why this can help

In the EU and UK, ‘best before’ describes quality; ‘use by’ concerns safety. Understanding the distinction can prevent suitable food being discarded solely because its best-before date has passed. Follow storage and after-opening instructions, and count only food actually eaten.

One possible next step

Check one correctly stored package: is its date about quality or safety? Keep storage instructions and never extend a use-by date.

What changes the outcome

A best-before label does not make damaged, spoiled or incorrectly stored food safe. Do not eat food past a safety-based use-by date or use taste to test safety. Date terminology varies by country; follow the relevant local guidance.

universalizable.The action / 02

Your illustrative scenario

Over one year · with the assumptions below

You

3 kg of edible food wasted less

You + 10 friends

33 kg of edible food wasted less

1,000 participants

3,000 kg of edible food wasted less

These are scenarios, not measured personal or collective savings. One separate household per participant. People sharing a home count it once, not once each.

Your inputs

Suitable food actually eaten per occasion
250 g
Eligible occasions per month
1
Months per year
12
Additional edible waste caused in the same period
0 kg

Calculation of the difference: 250 g / 1000 × 1 × 12 − 0 kg = 3 kg of edible food wasted

Calculation boundaries

Count only suitable food that would otherwise be discarded solely because of its best-before date and is actually eaten. Use the same edible mass basis, excluding packaging and absorbed cooking water. Subtract additional waste; mere shelf retention earns no saving. No safe extension period is calculated.

Illustrative assumption: 250 g of eligible food is eaten rather than discarded once monthly for 12 months, with no additional waste. This is 3 kg in the example, not a research average. Suitability is a prerequisite; these inputs do not test food safety.

Sources and calculation references

  1. Food date labellingEuropean Food Safety Authority (EFSA) · 2025
  2. Etichette alimentariAutorità europea per la sicurezza alimentare (EFSA) · 2025
  3. Guidance on date marking and related food information: part 1 (date marking)EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ); Konstantinos Koutsoumanis et al. · 2020
  4. Guidance on date marking and related food information: part 2 (food information)EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ); Konstantinos Koutsoumanis et al. · 2021
  5. Understanding food labelling: Best before and use-by datesUK Government, GOV.UK

Read the method: universalizable.com/en/method/ · One sheet · print double-sided, long-edge binding

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