Best before vs use by

Best before is the date of minimum durability. Use by replaces it when the food is highly perishable

Direct answer. In the EU, “best before” is the date of minimum durability, and “use by” replaces it for food that is highly perishable from a microbiological point of view. After the “use by” date the food shall be deemed to be unsafe. The consolidated text is CELEX 02011R1169-20250401 (EN, 01.04.2025; reference line 02011R1169 — EN — 01.04.2025). Article 2(2)(r) defines ‘date of minimum durability of a food’ as “the date until which the food retains its specific properties when properly stored.” Article 24(1) is quoted below. This page is not legal advice and it is not food-safety advice beyond those texts.

EU Food Info Guard (Shopify App Store · Write a review) reviews allergen, ingredient, nutrition, net quantity, origin, operator, and storage gaps before food product display. It does not set a date or decide that a food is safe to eat.

Related: FibreLedger Textile Labels — EU fibre composition uses Annex I names.

Free check first: EU food label particulars checklist runs in your browser and sends nothing. Paste food label text and see which mandatory particulars and Annex II allergens it names.

Checklist before you choose best before or use by

Article 24

Article 24 is titled “Minimum durability date, ‘use by’ date and date of freezing.” Article 24(1) says:

In the case of foods which, from a microbiological point of view, are highly perishable and are therefore likely after a short period to constitute an immediate danger to human health, the date of minimum durability shall be replaced by the ‘use by’ date. After the ‘use by’ date a food shall be deemed to be unsafe in accordance with Article 14(2) to (5) of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.

Article 24(2) says the appropriate date shall be expressed in accordance with Annex X. This page does not add a number of days, and it does not say a food is safe to eat after either date.

Annex X: how “best before” is written

Annex X is titled “DATE OF MINIMUM DURABILITY, ‘USE BY’ DATE AND DATE OF FREEZING.” Point 1 says the date of minimum durability shall be indicated as follows.

Point 1(a): the date shall be preceded by the words ‘Best before …’ when the date includes an indication of the day, and ‘Best before end …’ in other cases.

Point 1(b): the words referred to in point (a) shall be accompanied by either the date itself, or a reference to where the date is given on the labelling. If need be, these particulars shall be followed by a description of the storage conditions which must be observed if the product is to keep for the specified period.

Point 1(c): the date shall consist of the day, the month and possibly, the year, in that order and in uncoded form. However, in the case of foods:

Point 1(d): subject to Union provisions imposing other types of date indication, an indication of the date of minimum durability shall not be required for:

Annex X point 2: how “use by” is written

Point 2 says the ‘use by’ date shall be indicated as follows:

Storage-condition gaps on a product page are a separate checklist. Nutrition and net quantity are another particular. Allergens are the Annex II list and the allergen label.

Date of freezing

Annex X point 3 says the date of freezing or the date of first freezing as referred to in point 6 of Annex III shall be indicated as follows: it shall be preceded by the words ‘Frozen on …’; the words shall be accompanied by the date itself, or a reference to where the date is given on the labelling; the date shall consist of the day, the month and the year, in that order and in uncoded form.

“Expiry date”

The EU food rule in this consolidation uses ‘best before’ and ‘use by.’ The text reviewed does not use the phrase “expiry date” for food. The word “expiry” appears for the end of a legislative period, not as a food date. This page does not discuss medicines or cosmetics.

The Commission’s date marking and food waste prevention page says: “Better understanding and use of date marking on food, i.e. ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates, by all actors concerned, can prevent and reduce food waste in the EU.” That is the consumer-facing page. The legal sentences are the articles and Annex X above. The URL in older links that ended in date-marking-and-food-waste_en was not the page returned; the live page is the prevention URL just cited.

Great Britain

This section is GB guidance, separate from the EU regulation. GOV.UK food labelling guidance says: “You must usually show either a ‘best before’ or a ‘use by’ date on the packaging or label of pre-packed food products.” It also says: “Only show a ‘use by’ date where there’s a safety issue with eating the food after this date. It’s a criminal offence to sell food that’s past its ‘use by’ date.” Read that page for the GB list of foods that do not need a date. This page does not add eating advice beyond that quote.

Distance sales

For prepacked foods offered for sale by means of distance communication, Article 14(1)(a) excepts the particulars in Article 9(1)(f) — the date of minimum durability or the ‘use by’ date — from the information that must be available before the purchase is concluded. Article 14(1)(b) says all mandatory particulars shall be available at the moment of delivery. The product-page split is best before on an online product page. This page does not repeat it.

What this page is not

Related pages

Not legal advice. Confirm CELEX 02011R1169-20250401, including Article 24 and Annex X, before you print a date. The app reviews food-information gaps you enter. It does not decide that a food is safe.