SnapLarderA use-by date is about safety. A best-before date is about quality. Mix them up and you either bin good food or eat food you shouldn't.
The short answer
| Label | What it's about | After the date |
|---|---|---|
| Use by | Safety | Don't eat it, even if it looks and smells fine |
| Best before (or BB, BBE) | Quality | Usually safe, but it may not taste or feel as good |
| Display until, sell by | The shop's stock | Ignore it: it's not meant for you |
Use by: a safety date
You'll find use-by dates on food that goes off quickly, such as fresh meat, fish, ready meals and many dairy products. The UK's Food Standards Agency says eating food after its use-by date could make you ill, even if it looks and smells fine.
Follow the storage instructions on the label, because they're part of the date. A pack marked "keep refrigerated" only lasts to its use-by date if it has been kept in the fridge.
You can freeze food up to its use-by date. Freezing stops it going off, so you can eat it later as long as it went into the freezer on or before the date. Defrost it in the fridge and eat it within 24 hours.
Best before: a quality date
Best-before dates go on food that keeps longer: tins, dried pasta, cereal, crisps, frozen food. After the date the food is usually still safe to eat, but it may have lost some flavour, texture or nutritional value.
Storage still matters: food that hasn't been kept as the label says can lose quality before its best-before date.
Eggs are the exception people miss: they carry a best-before date, not a use-by date.
Country by country
United Kingdom
The rules are as above. The Food Standards Agency's guidance is at gov.uk/understanding-food-labelling.
Ireland
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland says food past its use-by date is deemed unsafe and can't be sold, so if you've bought some, don't eat it. Raw eggs must carry a best-before date. See fsai.ie.
Australia and New Zealand
Food with a use-by date can't legally be sold after it. Food can be sold after its best-before date, as long as it's still fit to eat. Bread with a shelf life under seven days can carry a "baked on" or "baked for" date instead. See the Food Safety Information Council.
South Africa
South African packs use the same words: "best before" (or "BB"), "use by", and sometimes "sell by". Many print the Afrikaans as well: "gebruik voor" means use by and "beste voor" means best before. Dates are often printed year first, for example 2027/03/04 for 4 March 2027.
Let your phone read the date
SnapLarder reads the printed date off the packet, whichever way round it's written, and reminds you before it arrives.
Never miss a use-by date
Scan your shopping and SnapLarder tells you what to eat first, before it goes off.
Download on the App StoreSources: Food Standards Agency, FSA guide to food safety, Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Food Safety Information Council. Checked October 2026. This page explains date labels; it isn't a substitute for the advice of the food safety body where you live.