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The Truth About Date Labels For Certified Food Safety Managers

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For certified food safety managers, accurately interpreting date labels is essential for effective inventory management, regulatory compliance, and ensuring consumer safety. With varying terminology across products and jurisdictions, such as expiration dates, use by dates, and sell by dates, understanding the specific implications of each date label type is crucial for effective food safety programs.

“Use By” Date Labels: Are The Key Deadline For Certified Food Safety Managers

“Use By” dates represent the manufacturer’s estimation of when a product may no longer be safe to consume. These dates are typically applied to highly perishable items and foods with potential microbiological concerns. From a certified food safety perspective, “Use By” dates should be treated as strict cutoffs:

  • Products exceeding “Use By” dates should be discarded
  • No service or sale of these items should occur after this date
  • Documentation of proper disposal is advisable for audit purposes

This is the most critical date label for safety management as it directly correlates to potential microbial growth and pathogen concerns. When it comes to date labels, this is the only true date of expiration for certified food safety managers.

“Sell By” Dates: Inventory Management Tool

Date Labels Certified Food Safety Managers

Image by Anastasiya Badun from Pixabay

“Sell By” dates primarily serve as inventory management guides for retailers, not safety indicators for consumers. These dates help ensure product turnover while items maintain optimal quality. For certified food safety managers:

  • Products can typically be consumed safely after the “Sell By” date
  • Establish internal protocols for how long after “Sell By” dates items may remain in inventory
  • Staff training should clarify that these dates relate to quality, not necessarily safety
  • Documentation should include both “Sell By” dates and your establishment’s disposition timelines

“Best By” Dates: Quality Indicators

“Best By” or “Best Before” dates indicate when a product will maintain optimal flavor, texture, and nutritional value. These dates reflect quality considerations rather than safety concerns, particularly for shelf-stable items. Implications of Best By date labels for certified food safety managers include:

  • Products are generally safe to consume after “Best By” dates if properly stored
  • Sensory evaluation protocols should be established for products nearing or exceeding these dates
  • Quality degradation may occur, potentially affecting customer satisfaction

Certified Food Manager Implementation Strategies for Different Date Label Types

Effective date label management requires:

  • Clear, documented policies for each date label type
  • Regular staff training on interpretation and procedures
  • Systematic rotation protocols (FIFO/FEFO) aligned with label types
  • Internal verification procedures that prioritize “Use By” dates

By implementing these practices for expiration dates, certified food safety managers can maintain regulatory compliance while balancing safety requirements with waste reduction initiatives in their operations.

Food Training Course Discussion on Sell-By and Use-By Dates

Food Training Course Discussion on Sell-By and Use-By Dates

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While we specialize in food training courses and online HAACP classes, we also monitor food industry news that affects general consumers as well. We recently came across a discussion concerning a USDA suggestion that food should be labeled with a best-by date rather than a sell-by date. According to the USDA, sell-by dates create confusion among consumers, and they estimate that nearly 30 percent of food waste from consumers and retailers arises from products that are labeled with a sell-by date.

Food Training Course Discussion on Sell-By and Use-By Dates

Image credit: Xymena via Flickr

Food Training Courses and Sell-By Dates

During our study on this subject, we found some pros and cons of labeling product with a best-by date rather than a sell-by date. Many foods such as canned items, pasteurized products and dried fruits have a much longer shelf life than many raw or freshly prepared items. If you have ever taken the time to investigate the sell-by dates on canned goods, you will notice dates that are months or even years into the future. With dates so far ahead of the present, predicting exactly when it will no longer be fit for human consumption is nearly impossible.

We do not believe the USDA’s attention to this subject will focus on long-term sell-by dates, but rather that of proteins and packaged foods that spoil in a short period of time. This presents unique difficulties for companies that process meat, seafood and other proteins. If the USDA does recommend that use-by dates be included on labels, butchers, distribution facilities and seafood harvesters must now decide how long the consumer has to eat or cook the product that they buy.

One thing we would like to see if this becomes the standard is some guidelines from the USDA as to how producers of these kinds of foods can accurately predict a date by which a product must be used. There are many factors that go into how fast food spoils. A refrigeration temperature variation of a few degrees changes how long proteins remain safe to eat, especially sensitive seafood items. The way a grocer stores food can affect raw meat and produce and of course there is no way for food manufacturers to guess how a consumer will handle their food once they have purchased their groceries.

This may be a step in the right direction to reduce the amount of food that consumers waste, but it also brings up concerns as to how food training courses can teach producers can accurately label their product. If you have an opinion on this issue, feel free to leave your comments below.