How do you interpret "EXP" or expiry date on food?

[dowie]

Obvs I think most people know "best before" is more of an advisory thing and stuff like tinned food can last well beyond best before but might not maintain the same taste etc...

Alternatively "use by" is not a good idea to ignore and used for food products that go bad quickly.

Is there any different meaning for "EXP" or "expiry"? Or, presumably, as I've typically seen this on stuff that doesn't go bad within a short time frame, is it interpreted as essentially the same as "BBE" or "Best Before"?

 

[dowie]

I'd take EXP as Best Before, when I worked in a supermarket we could reduce food past it's EXP date for staff but not anything past it's use by.

That makes sense and is what I'm assuming.

iirc they're supposed to be streamlining the labels and getting rid of everything that's not BB or Use By.

That's also good, should be standardised.

Is expiry date even a thing in the UK? Anyway, expiry date is the equivalent of use-by date.

What are you basing that on?

 

[dowie]

The Food Standards Agency make no reference to the use of expiry date. Neither do the NHS.

Googling the term gives results for its use outside the UK and it's used in the same way as a use-by date.

Yes, but where? What are you basing it on? I'm not being funny I'm just interested in the basis for the claim that it is equivalent to use by.

Do you have examples of food you have with an expiry date?

For example (these two cases it is used as a best before date):

Pringles have a "P" (presumably packaged) and "E" date on the base.

Complan has a "MAN" (manufacturing date) and an "EXP" date.

The other poster quoted in my post worked in a supermarket and has clearly seen it used elsewhere though, I can recall seeing it before too though I can't remember which other products

If it doesn't stick in your throat, it won't stick in your arse!

only thing I've seen with an expiry date is credit/debit card

https://www.foodsafety.ca/blog/difference-between-best-and-expiry-dates

Ah interesting, cheers - that's the sort of explanation/link I was hoping we might have for the UK - it does make a distinction between best before and expiry. Could in fact highlight a difference with complan for example - through both pringles and complan both also make reference to "best before" on the packaging.

 

[dowie]

ok,

Some fact and science as I part own a business supplying food to UK retailers. [...]

Hope this helps some.

Outstanding post, thanks