Expiry Date vs Best Before: Reading Codes, Spotting Re-Stamps (Video)

Transcript

Did you know a tiny '5123' code tells you a product's date?

Did you know a tiny '5123' code tells you a product's date?

Reading Dates Made Simple

Learn to decode food and cosmetic dates and catch fake stamps, stay safe.

Best before vs Use by

Best-before tells you when quality starts to drop, while use-by or expiry is the safety line you must obey. Manufacturing dates help you calculate the best-within window, and batch numbers are for recalls, not freshness.

Shelf life after opening

If a cream shows a tiny jar icon with 12M, you have twelve months of good use after opening. Write the opening date on the lid and store it as the label advises, usually in a cool, dry place.

Open jar symbol

A 6M symbol means six months once the product is opened, so jot the date on the lid and store it as the label advises, usually in a cool, dry place.

Spotting re-stamp

Spot a re-stamp by checking for different ink, scratched numbers, or stickers covering the date. If the date looks faded or has been covered, put the pack back and choose a fresh one.

Shop shelf tip

When shopping, reach to the back of the shelf for newer stock, and for chilled items pick packs from inside the fridge, not the door. Bring them home quickly and refrigerate within an hour.

A printed date is a promise that only holds if the pack was stored the way the label says. If the storage conditions change, the promise can break.

The one tip to avoid

The one tip to avoid waste: always look for a different ink, a sticker, or a blurred date before you buy. A mismatched label often means the stock was re-dated to look fresher.

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Read the full guide

Read the complete guide on thecareonline.com. This is general information, not medical advice.