Don't rely on food expiration dates

People often assume that it’s unsafe to eat food that’s past the expiry date on the label, but the truth is that many of these dates—phrased as ‘best by’ or ‘best before’—are less about safety and more about freshness. And they’re a manufacturer’s estimate of quality, not a clear-cut boundary. Instead of throwing away items that have passed their ‘best by’ date, you can rely on how they look, smell, and feel to check whether they’re still edible.

Doing so can help cut down on food waste, which is a significant contributor to climate change. When food waste goes to landfill, it is a significant producer of methane, a greenhouse gas that is over 28 times as potent as CO2 over a 100-year period. More than that, it can save you money. It’s estimated that people spend about $1,300 a year on food that ends up in the trash, plenty of which is still perfectly edible.

Many food items are fine to eat past the expiry date on their label | Source: Taste of Home

You don’t want to push it with higher-risk foods like meat and dairy, but most items are good to eat longer than you probably think. Personally, I use expiration dates as a starting point to assess food, but I always make the final call myself—and I often end up using ingredients past the date on the label.

Remember that we didn’t always have these labels to help us, and we did just fine with our own senses and homegrown tricks. For example, you probably already know the float test for eggs. Fresh produce and fridge items tend to show clear signs when they’re no longer safe to eat, so you can usually trust your senses. Dry and canned foods tend to last much longer than the label says if they’re properly sealed up.

Try honing your senses instead of relying on the date on the packaging. You might be surprised how often food past its date is still fine to eat.