We’ve got lots of ideas to help with that, including using apps like Upside or cash-back credit cards to earn money back on groceries. But one of the simplest ways to relieve pressure on your food budget is to use what you already have. That sounds obvious, yet many of us throw away perfectly good items without realizing it. If you’ve been relying on sell-by dates as a safety rule, you could be discarding a lot of food needlessly.
Every year, consumers and retailers in the U.S. discard about $161 billion worth of food, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
How much are you needlessly throwing out at home?
What Do Sell-By Dates Actually Indicate?
A sell-by date instructs stores how long to keep a product on the shelf. It reflects when the maker believes the item will be at its freshest.
Sell-by dates are only one type of labeling manufacturers might place on food packages, and none of these labels indicate that food is unsafe after the date, the USDA says.
There are no federal rules requiring date labels on food (except for infant formula). For products that do have dates, there’s no national standard defining when those dates should be set or what they precisely mean.
With no uniform system or clear safety benchmarks, many people are unsure how to interpret the labels.
How to Read Food Date Labels
Depending on state rules and manufacturer practices, food packaging may show one or more of several common labels used across the industry.
Those include:
- Sell-By Date: a month/day/year indicating how long a store should display the product for sale, based on freshness.
- Use-By Date: a month/day/year by which the maker recommends consuming the product to ensure peak quality. It may also appear as “best if used by” or “best before.”
- Closed or Coded “Date”: a production code used by the manufacturer to trace a product during shipping and for recalls. Retailers often use these codes to determine when an item was packed and delivered to decide shelf time.
- Expiration (EXP) Date: For cartons of eggs and other poultry products carrying the USDA grade shield, a “pack date” is required to track sources in case of foodborne illness. Some states also require an “expiration” stamp on eggs; despite the alarming name, this functions like a sell-by date.
None of these dates are indicators of safety.
Producers establish sell-by and use-by dates based on when they estimate the item will be at its best quality.
Even for baby formula, the required use-by date refers to quality — nutrient levels and texture — not to contamination or spoilage risk. The manufacturer sets the date, though USDA requires it to be printed.
And coded dates are not meaningful for shoppers.
In short, package dates or codes tell retailers how long to display items. They don’t tell consumers when food will become unsafe.
If a date passes after you bring an item home, the USDA says it’s generally still safe if handled correctly. Food becomes risky only when signs of spoilage appear — unpleasant odor, visible mold or decay.
The variety of dates and terms can be frustrating and confusing for shoppers.
Lawmakers are working on federal standards to simplify labeling, but until that happens, how can you tell whether your food is safe to eat?
For many packaged goods, the usable life is far longer than most people assume.
How Long Will Your Food Actually Last?
Most packaged goods remain safe to eat indefinitely, so it’s often quality — not safety — that determines when to toss them.
Canned goods can last indefinitely as long as they’re not stored in freezing conditions or above 90°F. If cans show no dents, rust or bulging, the contents are safe, the USDA notes.
In terms of quality and flavor, canned items often stay good for two to five years, and roughly half that time for high-acid foods like fruit and tomato-based sauces.
For other shelf-stable items — chips, cereal, pasta or many ready-made carb-heavy meals and snacks — the concern is more about texture and flavor than safety.
In those situations, buy items before the sell-by date and discard them when they taste or feel stale. From a safety standpoint, if packaging is intact, they’re generally fine — they’re called “non-perishable” for a reason.
So when do you need to throw away perishable items?
How to Tell When Food Has Gone Bad
Short answer: Trust your judgment. Discard anything that smells off or shows visible spoilage.
While many people seek definitive rules, this is one area where instinct serves you well.
Odd smells or visible mold are clear indicators to discard.
For perishables like meats and produce, safety is as important as quality. Follow USDA handling tips — for example, keep raw meat and poultry on refrigerator bottom shelves — and watch for spoilage signs.
To preserve flavor, buy foods before their sell-by date, refrigerate promptly, or freeze if you won’t use them within the times listed in the charts below. Adhere to USDA food safety steps when thawing and refreezing perishable items to reduce the risk of food-borne illness.
When to discard fresh or uncooked food items
| Product | Storage time after purchase |
|---|---|
| Poultry | 1 to 2 days |
| Beef, veal, pork and lamb | 3 to 5 days |
| Ground meat and poultry | 1 to 2 days |
| Fresh variety meats | 1 to 2 days |
| Ham | 3 to 7 days |
| Uncooked sausage | 1 to 2 days |
| Eggs | 3 to 5 weeks |
When to discard packaged food items
| Product | Storage time after purchase |
|---|---|
| Cooked poultry, refrigerated | 3 to 4 days |
| Cooked sausage | 7 days |
| Hard/dry sausage | 2-3 weeks |
| Corned beef | 5 to 7 days |
| Bacon | 7 days |
| Hot dogs | 1-2 weeks |
| Lunch meat | 3-5 days |
| Ham, fully cooked | 7 days |
| Ham, canned, refrigerated | 9 months |
| Ham, canned, shelf-stable | 2 years |
| Canned meat and poultry, shelf-stable | 2 to 5 years |
How to Keep Food Fresh and Safe at Home
Below are a few key storage practices that help keep food fresher and safer for longer.
If you’ve worked in food service, these guidelines will be familiar. Apply them at home too:
- Keep your refrigerator at 40°F or below and your freezer at 0°F or below. Verify temperatures with an appliance thermometer.
- Package meat, poultry and fish tightly to prevent leaks onto other foods. Store them separately — ideally in their own drawer or on the refrigerator’s bottom shelf to avoid drips.
- Prevent cross-contamination by washing hands and cleaning the cutting board, counters and utensils that contact raw foods immediately with hot, soapy water.
- Avoid the “danger zone”: hot prepared foods should stay at or above 140°F, and cold foods should remain at or below 40°F.
- Don’t leave perishable items at room temperature for more than two hours.
- Use cooked leftovers within four days.
If your fridge is frequently full or many people handle food in your household, day dots can make tracking incoming food and discard dates easier.
Be mindful of unusual situations that may affect safety or quality. For instance, the USDA notes that if hot dogs are taken to a picnic and left out for several hours, they shouldn’t be eaten later even if the use-by date hasn’t passed.
Save Money — Preserve Your Food!
By following these food-handling tips and relying on common sense, you can cut down on worry about your food’s safety and quality.
You’ll also keep more money in your wallet by avoiding the unnecessary disposal of good food.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Sell-By Dates
Does a sell-by date mean food is unsafe after that day? In most situations, no. A sell-by date isn’t a safety cutoff. It’s a manufacturer’s guidance to retailers about how long an item should be displayed for sale based on peak freshness. Packaged items you keep at home generally have a much longer usable life. Foods that taste stale aren’t automatically unsafe; check for spoilage signs instead.
Does the sell-by date tell you when it’s safe to eat something? No. It tells stores how long to display a product based on when it will likely taste freshest. These dates are chosen by producers and aren’t rooted in safety rules. Refer to the tables above for recommended storage durations for perishables and shelf-stable items, use common sense to spot spoilage, and consume foods while they still taste good. For related guidance on keeping produce fresh, see how long does produce last.
Are there real expiration dates on most foods? No. In general, foods don’t carry an “expiration date,” and labeling doesn’t indicate the moment a food becomes unsafe. Sell-by dates are designed for retailers, not as consumer safety markers.
Do sell-by dates matter for consumers? They matter to stores, not to households. Manufacturers use them to advise retailers when products will be at their best for sale; they don’t inform consumers when to eat, freeze or toss items.
Alex Rivera is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance® and founder ofHealthy Rich, a site focused on accessible, no-cost financial education. Alex has written about work and money for outlets including Forbes, The New York Times, CNBC, NextAdvisor and Insider. Savinly Readers contributed to this piece.
