Best before or use by: two dates that do not mean the same thing
A pack carries one date or the other, never both. They look alike, but the regulation gives them a different meaning and a different consequence. Below we explain what the text says.
The legal basis
The rule is Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Article 9(1)(f) and Annex X. Every prepacked food carries either a date of minimum durability (best before) or a use-by date.
Best before — a question of quality
This is the date until which the food retains its specific properties when properly stored. After it the food does not automatically become unsafe. It may still be placed on the market, provided it is not harmful to health and provided it is marked as having passed the date.
Use by — a question of safety
This one is mandatory for foods that are highly perishable from a microbiological point of view and are therefore likely, after a short period, to constitute an immediate danger to human health.
After that date the food is deemed unsafe under Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 and may not be placed on the market. Here the difference is not one of degree but of kind.
The format of the date
Annex X sets the order: day, month, year. Where the indication does not include a day, the wording becomes best before end of the month or the year shown.
When no date is required at all
Annex X exempts certain categories from the date of minimum durability, among them:
- fresh fruit and vegetables that have not been peeled or cut
- wines and other beverages containing 10% or more alcohol by volume
- bakery products normally consumed within 24 hours
- vinegar
- cooking salt
- sugar in solid form
- certain confectionery products and chewing gum
Without packaging
Under Article 44, non-prepacked foods are not required to carry a date. The only mandatory information there is the allergen information.
The link to the lot number
The two indications are legally connected. Where the date is given unencrypted with at least the day and the month, it replaces the obligation to give a lot number. That is why many recall notices identify the affected products by date rather than by batch number.
In Germany
The German terms are Mindesthaltbarkeitsdatum (abbreviated MHD) for the date of minimum durability and Verbrauchsdatum for the use-by date. The regulation applies directly, so the substance is identical across member states; only the name changes.
Why it matters in a recall
In a notice the date works as an identifier: it defines which packs the measure covers. Two packs of the same product with different dates can be treated differently.