yes,
no fresh produce flicks a switch from being fine and healthy one day to rancid and death inducing the next,
its a gradual process of decay that starts the minute the animal / vegetable is slaughtered / harvested and ends with it rotting.
supermarkets et al will apply an arbitrary date to when it goes off which will in all likelihood be on the safe side.
meet will tend to be a finer line than fruit or veg, but can still check by looking at, feeling and smelling your food.,
smell foods, check for discoloration or feel, dont bin stuff just because a packet says its gone off.