"Use By" Dates & Food Safety

A survey from the National Resources Defense Council found that 90 percent of Americans toss out food prematurely. Much of this waste can be attributed to a confusing food dating system that is not federally regulated.

In fact, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) states on its website that, with the exception of infant formula, product dating is not required by Federal regulations. The food dates or "expiration dates" we are so familiar with are actually not indicators of food safety at all, they are simply the manufacturer's suggestion as to when their product is at best quality.

What this means for the consumer is that we are most likely throwing out food while it's still perfectly safe to eat. The best way to combat this waste is to familiarize yourself with common food labels and their meanings. Below is a break down of the meanings behind these food labels, and general guidelines as to how long your groceries will actually last.

Since food labels refer to quality, not safety, what are food labels telling us about the quality of our food? And what's the difference between sell by, use by, best by, and all the other labels? 

Sell By

The sell-by date simply tells retailers how long to display the product before taking it off the shelves. It's in no way an indication of safety. Grocery stores will often try to get rid of this old inventory through sales, so be on the lookout.

Best If Used By/Before

Probably the most commonly heeded food date is the best by date, because, let's face it, the name is a little misleading. As with other food dates, this label doesn't indicate when a product is "best" in terms of safety, but rather in terms of quality. The best-by date simply refers to when a product will be at best flavor or quality.

Guaranteed Fresh

This date usually refers to bakery items. It simply indicates when the item will be at peak freshness, but it's still safe to eat after this date.

Use By
This refers to the last date recommended by the manufacturer for use of the produce while at peak quality. The only time this refers to safety is in the case of infant formula.

Pack Date

The pack date is the code that refers to the date the food was washed, graded, and packaged. This is most commonly found on egg cartons. The tricky thing with this label is it's not the easiest to read. The label will look like a three number code that represents the day of the year that it was packed. For example, 001 would refer to January 1, and 365 would refer to December 31.

Freeze By

This date indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality as long as it's frozen.

How to Know If Food Has Gone Bad

These are general guidelines as to how long different types of foods are safe to eat, the keyword here being general. What's most important to know about food safety are the signs of spoilage.

According to the USDA, "If the date passes during home storage, a product should still be safe and wholesome if handled properly until the time spoilage is evident." Common signs of spoilage include an off odor, flavor, or texture due to naturally occurring spoilage bacteria. Of course, mold is also an indicator. But sometimes, even the sight or sniff test isn't enough to determine whether or not food has gone bad. Refer to the chart below for general guidelines from the USDA on when it's time to toss and when it’s not.

Keep Food Safe - Food Safety Basics Safe steps in food handling, cooking, and storage are essential in preventing foodborne illness. You can't see, smell, or taste harmful bacteria that may cause illness. In every step of food preparation, follow these four guidelines to keep food safe:

Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often.

Separate: Don't cross-contaminate and don't mix older foods with new ones.

Cook: Cook to proper temperatures, checking with a food thermometer.
Chill: Refrigerate promptly. 

Shopping 

Purchase refrigerated or frozen items after selecting your nonperishables. Never choose meat or poultry in packaging that is torn or leaking. Do not buy food past "Sell-By," "Use-By," or other expiration dates. 

Storage 

Always refrigerate perishable food within 2 hours (1 hour when the temperature is above 90°F). Check the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer with an appliance thermometer. The refrigerator should be at 40°F or below and the freezer at 0°F or below.  

Cook or freeze fresh poultry, fish, ground meats, and variety meats within 2 days; other beef, veal, lamb, or pork, within 3 to 5 days.

Perishable food such as meat and poultry should be wrapped securely to maintain quality and to prevent meat juices from getting onto other food. To maintain quality when freezing meat and poultry in its original package, wrap the package again with foil or plastic wrap that is recommended for the freezer.  

In general, high-acid canned food such as tomatoes, grapefruit, and pineapple can be stored unopened on the shelf for 12 to 18 months. 

Low-acid canned food such as meat, poultry, fish, and most vegetables will keep 2 to 5 years-if the unopened can remains in good condition and has been stored in a cool, clean, and dry place. 

Discard cans that are dented, leaking, bulging, or rusted.

Thawing 

Refrigerator: The refrigerator allows slow, safe thawing. Make sure thawing meat and poultry juices do not drip onto other food. 

Cold Water: For faster thawing, place food in a leak-proof plastic bag. Submerge in cold tap water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook immediately after thawing. 

Microwave: Cook meat and poultry immediately after microwave thawing. 

Preparation

Always wash hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before and after handling food.

Don't cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and their juices away from other food. 

After cutting raw meats, wash cutting board, knife, and counter tops with hot, soapy water.

Marinate meat and poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator. 

Sanitize cutting boards by using a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of water. 

Cooking

Cook all raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145°F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures.

For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming.

Ground meats: Cook all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to an internal temperature of 160°F as measured with a food thermometer.

 

Poultry: Cook all poultry to an internal temperature of 165°F as measured with a food thermometer.

Cooking
Product	Type	Minimum Internal Temperature & Rest Time
Beef, Pork, Veal & Lamb	Ground	160 °F
	Steak, chops, and roasts	145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
Chicken & Turkey	Breasts	165 °F
	Ground, stuffing, and casseroles	165 °F
	Whole bird, legs, thighs, and wings	165 °F
Eggs	Any type	160 °F
Fish & Shellfish	Any type	145°F
Leftovers	Any type	165 °F
Ham	Fresh or smoked (uncooked)	145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
	Fully cooked ham (to reheat)	Reheat cooked hams packaged in USDA-inspected plants to 140 °F and all others to 165 °F.

Serving

Hot food should be held at 140°F or warmer.

Cold food should be held at 40°F or colder. 

When serving food at a buffet, keep hot food hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays. Keep cold food cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice or use small serving trays and replace them often. Use a food thermometer to check hot and cold holding temperatures. 

Perishable food should not be left out more than 2 hours at room temperature (1 hour when the temperature is above 90°F). 

Leftovers
Discard any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour if the temperature was above 90°F). Place food into shallow containers and immediately put in the refrigerator or freezer for rapid cooling. Use most cooked leftovers within 3 to 4 days. (See chart.) Reheat leftovers to 165°F. 

Refreezing
Meat and poultry defrosted in the refrigerator may be refrozen before or after cooking. If thawed by other methods, cook before refreezing.

Cold Storage Chart
These storage times will help keep refrigerated (40°F) food from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat. Because freezing at 0°F or below (not 32°F) keeps food safe indefinitely, recommended freezer storage times are for quality only. Use an appliance thermometer to monitor storage temperatures in the refrigerator and freezer.

Cold Storage Chart
Preparation	Type or Description	Refrigerate (40°F)	Freeze (0°F)*
Beef, Lamb, Pork, Veal
Fresh beef, lamb, veal and pork	Ground, hamburger, stew meat, variety meat (tongue, liver, heart, kidney, chitterlings)	1-2 days	3-4 months
	Chops, roasts, steaks	3-5 days	4-12 months
	Chops, pre-stuffed	1 day	Does not freeze well
Leftovers	Including casseroles	3-4 days	2-3 months
Corned Beef	In pouch, with pickling juices	5-7 days	Drained, 1 month
Bacon	Bacon	7 days	1 month
Ham (Pre-Cooked)
Fully Cooked	Slices	3-4 days	1-2 months
	Half	3-5 days	1-2 months
	Whole	7 days	1-2 months
Canned Labeled "Keep Refrigerated"	Opened	3-5 days	1-2 months
	Unopened	6-9 months	Do not freeze
Vacuum Sealed	Unopened, fully cooked vacuum sealed, dated	"Use-by" date	1-2 months
	Unopened, fully cooked vacuum sealed, undated	2 weeks	1-2 months
Chicken, Turkey, Other Poultry
Fresh	Chicken breast, pre-stuffed	1 day	Does not freeze well
	Ground, patties, giblets	1-2 days	3-4 months
	Pieces	1-2 days	9 months
	Whole	1-2 days	1 year
Leftovers	Casseroles	3-4 days	4-6 months
	Chicken nuggets, patties	1-2 days	1-3 months
	Pieces, plain or fried	3-4 days	4 months
	Pieces in broth or gravy	3-4 days	6 months
Eggs
Fresh	In shell	3-5 weeks	Do not freeze
	Yolk, whites	2-4 days	1 year
Leftovers	Casserole, quiche, omelet	3-4 days	2 months
	Hard-cooked	1 week	Does not freeze well
Opened	Liquid pasteurized eggs, egg substitutes	3 days	Does not freeze well
Unopened	Liquid pasteurized eggs, egg substitutes	10 days	1 year
Sausages, Lunch Meats
Hard Sausage	Jerky sticks, pepperoni	2-3 weeks	1-2 months
Raw Sausage	Beef, chicken, pork, turkey	1-2 days	1-2 months
Smoked Sausage	Breakfast links, patties	7 days	1-2 months
Lunch Meat	Deli-sliced or store-prepared	3-5 days	1-2 months
Opened	Hot dogs	1 week	1-2 months
	Lunch meat—vacuum-packed, sliced	3-5 days	1-2 months
	Summer sausage labeled "keep refrigerated"	3 weeks	1-2 months
Unopened	Hot dogs	2 weeks	1-2 months
	Lunch meat—vacuum-packed, sliced	2 weeks	1-2 months
	Summer sausage labeled "keep refrigerated"	3 months	1-2 months
Seafood
Fresh	Fish	1-2 days	3-8 months
	Shellfish	1-2 days	3-12 months
Leftovers	Fish and shellfish	3-4 days	3 months
Miscellaneous
Frozen Dinners and Entrees	"Keep frozen"	Unsafe to thaw	3-4 months
Mayonnaise	Commercial, "refrigerate after opening"	2 months	Do not freeze
Other Leftovers	Gravy and meat broth	3-4 days	2-3 months
	Pizza	3-4 days	1-2 months
	Soups and stews	3-4 days	2-3 months
	Stuffing	3-4 days	1 month
Salads	Egg, chicken, ham, macaroni, tuna (store-prepared, homemade)	3-5 days	Does not freeze well

*Because freezing at 0°F keeps food safe indefinitely, recommended storage times are for quality only.

For More Food Safety Information, Contact:
USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline
1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854)
The hotline is open year-round Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET (English or Spanish). 

Visit the Web: www.fsis.usda.gov