FEATURE
The Truth About Expiration Dates
Especially in Summer Heat
How to keep your cool (and your mayo from murdering you)
THE GREAT DATE DEBATE
You’re staring at a yogurt cup in your fridge. It says June 29. It’s July 1. You sniff it. It smells… fine-ish? Do you eat it and gamble with destiny, or toss it and mourn the 89 cents? Ah yes, the classic American pastime: playing refrigerator roulette.
Let’s be honest—expiration dates are confusing. “Best by,” “Sell by,” “Use by,” “Enjoy by,” “Freeze before,” “Wouldn’t recommend after”… it’s enough to make a person give up and live off toaster waffles.
But here’s the big secret: most expiration dates are suggestions, not commands. Yep. In many cases, they’re about quality, not safety. Food manufacturers slap them on to protect flavor, texture, or just cover their legal behinds. But throw summer heat into the mix, and suddenly your expired eggs might become a DIY biohazard.
So let’s break it all down—what expiration dates really mean, when to trust your nose, and what foods become risky little stink bombs when it’s hotter than the surface of the sun outside.
THE DATES DECODED
Not all labels are created equal. Here's your cheat sheet:
Sell By – For stores. Tells them when to rotate inventory. You can often eat it days (sometimes weeks) later.
Best By / Best If Used By – The suggested date for peak flavor. Doesn’t mean it’s unsafe after that.
Use By – The only one you should side-eye hard. This is more about safety—especially for perishable items.
Freeze By – Stick it in the freezer before this date if you want to keep it longer. Once frozen, the clock basically stops.
