{"id":25785,"date":"2017-06-30T10:06:43","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T14:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-gordon-food-service-canada.pantheonsite.io\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T11:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T16:59:16","slug":"understand-the-difference-in-date-codes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/","title":{"rendered":"Understand the Difference in Date Codes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-nbsp\">&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you ever purchased packaged food and been confused why some items have a \u201cBest Before\u201d date and others have an \u201cExpiration\u201d date? Don\u2019t worry, you\u2019re not alone. Consumers are often unsure how to interpret these dates on food packages and generally assume both dates mean product expiration. But the two labels actually mean different things.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-difference-in-date-codes\">Difference in Date Codes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The &#8220;Best Before&#8221; date refers to the quality of an unopened and properly stored food product, not safety.&nbsp;This date tells you how long a product will retain its optimal freshness, taste and potential shelf-life. According to Health Canada, a &#8220;Best Before&#8221; date along with proper storage instructions must be included on the package of foods that will keep fresh for 90 days or less. Foods with a shelf life greater than 90 days do not need &#8220;Best Before&#8221; dates. &nbsp;However, you will see a &#8220;Best Before&#8221; date on most foods even though they are not required to do so. It is important to keep in mind once you open a food package, the &#8220;Best Before&#8221; date&nbsp;no longer applies. An open package is exposed to environmental conditions, and can easily become cross-contaminated.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-expiration-dates\">Expiration Dates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The expiration date tells you the last day the product will retain its optimal nutritional value. In Canada, there are five types of products that must have an expiration date on its packaging. These include: &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>infant formula<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>nutritional supplements<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>meal replacements<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>foods sold specifically for very low-energy diets\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>formulated liquid diets\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep these tips in mind when reading \u201cBest Before\u201d and \u201cExpiration\u201d dates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If food you have purchased develops an off odour, flavour or appearance due to spoilage &#8211; you should not use it for quality reasons.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If foods are mishandled (for example, food left out for several hours at a picnic on a hot day), the product could potentially cause foodborne illness before the \u201cBest Before\u201d date. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Health Canada recommends not to consume a food or product if the expiration date has passed.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are ever unsure of the safety of a food product, it is always safer to dispose of the item. In other words, \u201cwhen in doubt, throw it out!\u201d\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Have you ever purchased packaged food and been confused why some items have a \u201cBest Before\u201d date and others have an \u201cExpiration\u201d date? Don\u2019t worry, you\u2019re not alone. Consumers are often unsure how to interpret these dates on food packages and generally assume both dates mean product expiration. But the two labels actually mean [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":26998,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,123,112,69,111,113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catering-small-business","category-hotels-hospitality","category-restaurant-bars","category-running-your-business","category-healthcare","category-university"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Understand the Difference in Date Codes | Gordon Food Service<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Understand essential food date codes like &quot;sell by&quot; and &quot;use by&quot; to ensure food safety compliance, minimize product waste, and streamline inventory management in your operation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Understand the Difference in Date Codes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Understand essential food date codes like &quot;sell by&quot; and &quot;use by&quot; to ensure food safety compliance, minimize product waste, and streamline inventory management in your operation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gordon Food Service\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-30T14:06:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-21T16:59:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/understanding-different-date-codes-1_0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"695\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"375\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cody Rivers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cody.rivers@gfs.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GFSDelivers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cody Rivers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Understand the Difference in Date Codes | Gordon Food Service","description":"Understand essential food date codes like \"sell by\" and \"use by\" to ensure food safety compliance, minimize product waste, and streamline inventory management in your operation.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Understand the Difference in Date Codes","og_description":"Understand essential food date codes like \"sell by\" and \"use by\" to ensure food safety compliance, minimize product waste, and streamline inventory management in your operation.","og_url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/","og_site_name":"Gordon Food Service","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/","article_published_time":"2017-06-30T14:06:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-21T16:59:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":695,"height":375,"url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/understanding-different-date-codes-1_0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cody Rivers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cody.rivers@gfs.com","twitter_site":"@GFSDelivers","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cody Rivers","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/"},"author":{"name":"Cody Rivers","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ac2dd585b10d08ce15daca230d897374"},"headline":"Understand the Difference in Date Codes","datePublished":"2017-06-30T14:06:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-21T16:59:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/"},"wordCount":372,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/understanding-different-date-codes-1_0.jpg","articleSection":["Catering &amp; Small Business","Hotels &amp; Hospitality","Restaurant &amp; Bars","Running Your Business","Senior Living &amp; Healthcare","University"],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":["WebPage","CollectionPage"],"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/","name":"Understand the Difference in Date Codes | Gordon Food Service","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/understanding-different-date-codes-1_0.jpg","datePublished":"2017-06-30T14:06:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-21T16:59:16+00:00","description":"Understand essential food date codes like \"sell by\" and \"use by\" to ensure food safety compliance, minimize product waste, and streamline inventory management in your operation.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/understanding-different-date-codes-1_0.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/understanding-different-date-codes-1_0.jpg","width":695,"height":375},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/understand-the-difference-in-date-codes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Understand the Difference in Date Codes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/","name":"Gordon Food Service","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#organization","name":"Gordon Food Service","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GFS-EN-Logo-og-image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GFS-EN-Logo-og-image.png","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Gordon Food Service"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/","https:\/\/x.com\/GFSDelivers","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gordonfoodservice\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/gordon-food-service\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ac2dd585b10d08ce15daca230d897374","name":"Cody Rivers","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9b81a7281ffd8fc2d52ce39faf1be6f131db67bdc3ed5914928324e202f21f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9b81a7281ffd8fc2d52ce39faf1be6f131db67bdc3ed5914928324e202f21f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Cody Rivers"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/cody.rivers@gfs.com"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25785"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42107,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25785\/revisions\/42107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}