Differences between expiration date and preferential consumption

When you go to the supermarket or your usual store where you buy the foods and products you consume every day, it is common for you to look at the labeling of them to know their expiration date, and above all for any misunderstanding of the establishment, this date is already It has happened (it is an uncommon error, but what happens).

Likewise, when we buy it and store it in the fridge or in the pantry, if we want it for a long period of time it is equally common for us to check the labeling in order not to risk eating a product already past date.

But the truth is that, in most cases, there are many people who confuse the term Date of Expiry and the Preferential use date, and few who really know what they indicate.

Differences between the expiration date and the preferred use date

Both dates are indicative, by law, of the ideal and suitable moment during which a certain product or food must be consumed, without entailing a risk to health (in the case of the expiration date), and without losing properties nutritional and organoleptic (in the case of the preferred consumption date).

Having said that, it is very simple to discover the differences between both dates:

Date of Expiry: is the one that by law must be set by the manufacturer in the packaged product, being common in perishable or very perishable foods. It is constituted as the limit in which that particular product or food can be consumed without risk to health.
Preferential use date: is the date that indicates the recommended time for consumption, without losing nutritional or organoleptic properties (ie, flavor, texture or aroma).

In Greece the sale of past-date foods is already legal

We proceed to update this article, originally published on April 2, 2013, because from September 1, 2013, Greece allows the sale of foods whose preferential consumption date has already been fulfilled, selling them at a price lower than the original price. . These products may continue on the supermarket shelf for the following duration:

Those whose date of preferential consumption indicates day and month, will be able to continue on sale one more week.
Those whose date of preferential consumption indicates month and year, will be able to follow the sale for another month.
Those whose date of consumption indicates the year, may continue to sell for three more months.

This regulation excludes perishable foods such as meat and dairy products, they can only be sold in a separate and well identified area of the establishment, and will only be possible for small consumers, so they can never be served in cafes, restaurants or bars.

More information | RTVE This article is published for informational purposes only. You can not and should not replace the consultation with a Nutritionist. We advise you to consult your trusted Nutritionist.