Crackers two weeks past their date, yogurt one day past: the answer depends on two things: what kind of date is on the label, and what kind of food it is.
This guide summarizes advice from food safety agencies. It’s general information, not medical advice. If you’re cooking for babies, pregnant women, older adults or anyone with a weakened immune system, be more cautious than the rules below.
The short rules
- Past “use by” on fresh, perishable food (UK, EU, Australia): throw it out, even if it looks and smells fine.
- Past “best before” on long-life food: usually fine if the pack is intact, it was stored properly and it shows no signs of spoilage.
- In the US, most dates are about quality. For perishables, go by safe storage times rather than the printed date.
- Bulging or leaking cans, mold on soft food, perishables left out more than 2 hours: throw them out, whatever the date says.
- When in doubt, throw it out.
Spoilage bacteria make food smell, taste or look bad, but rarely make you ill. Pathogenic bacteria, such as Listeria and Salmonella, cause food poisoning. As the FDA explains, food can make you very sick even when it doesn’t look, smell or taste spoiled.
That’s the logic behind the two dates used in the UK, EU, Australia and New Zealand. Use by is a safety date, set for foods where pathogens could grow. Best before is a quality date, for foods where the main risk is going stale. The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) says the “sniff test” is fine for best-before food but should never be used for use-by food.
These foods lose quality slowly. Past the date, check the pack, then look, smell and taste a little.
Throw them out if you see mold, insects, damp, an odd smell or a damaged pack.
For foods with a real safety-based use-by date, the date is the limit. The FSA advises against eating meat after its use-by date, even if it seems fine. Typical examples include:
You don’t have to eat use-by food on the day. You can freeze it on or before the date, or cook it before the date and eat it within 48 hours (FSA guidance).
In the US, where perishables often carry “sell by” or quality dates, use storage times instead. The FDA’s storage chart gives, for example, 1–2 days in the fridge for raw ground meat and raw poultry, 3–5 days for opened lunch meat and 3–4 days for cooked leftovers.
Throw away a can, without tasting the food, if:
The CDC warns that these can be signs of Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism. You can’t see, smell or taste the toxin, and even a small taste can be deadly. The FSA adds that a shallow dent is usually fine if the can shows no other damage. Improperly home-canned vegetables and meats carry the highest risk.
The USDA’s rule of thumb is that mold on hard, dense food usually can’t spread far, but on soft or moist food its threads can reach well below the surface, along with bacteria you can’t see.
Don’t sniff moldy food. Breathing in the spores can cause respiratory problems.
Bacteria multiply fastest between 40°F and 140°F (4°C and 60°C), the “danger zone”. The FDA and USDA advise:
The UK’s FSA similarly says to get cooked food into the fridge within one to two hours.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Pasta or crackers a few weeks past best before, pack intact | Check them; usually fine |
| Can past best before, can in good shape | Check when opening; if anything seems off, throw it out |
| Bulging, leaking or deeply dented can | Throw it out; don’t open or taste |
| Chicken one day past use by (UK/EU/AU) | Throw it out |
| Milk past its date, smells fine | Use-by date: throw it out. Best-before date: check before using |
| Infant formula past its date | Throw it out |
| Bread with a few spots of mold | Throw out the whole loaf |
| Not sure what kind of date it is | Treat it as a use-by date |
Most food poisoning passes on its own, but seek medical help for severe or lasting symptoms, such as high fever, bloody diarrhea or signs of dehydration. Blurred or double vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, or difficulty swallowing or breathing after eating canned or preserved food can be signs of botulism. The CDC treats this as a medical emergency: go to the emergency room straight away.
The easiest fix is to eat things before their date. Use-By: Expiry Tracker is a free iPhone app where you add an item by typing one line, like Yogurt 4 pots 10/5/2026. It reminds you before the date, daily in the final week and on the day itself, and sends a weekly digest. Your household can share the list through iCloud, with no account and no ads.
More articles: Food storage and expiry guides.
General food safety information, not medical advice.
Updated: September 29, 2026