Best before and use by: what they mean for a stockpile

By SGWNI. Checked on 2 November 2026.

Best before is about quality, and use by is about safety. Food is usually safe to eat after its best before date, though it may not be at its best. Food should not be eaten after its use-by date, because that could make you ill. In a stockpile, nearly everything you keep in the cupboard carries a best before date, which is why old tins aren’t automatically wasted food.

Our use by or best before checker gives you the rule for a particular label and food.

The two dates side by side

Both dates depend on storage. GOV.UK says food that isn’t stored properly can become unsafe before its use-by date, and that the label tells you how to store it. A date on a pack assumes you’ve followed that.

What this means for cupboard food

Tins, jars and dried food are the core of most stockpiles, and they’re on the forgiving side of this rule. Passing a best before date doesn’t mean you have to throw them away. Look at the pack and the food itself first.

We know of no UK dataset for how long tinned food stays good. The US Department of Agriculture publishes guide times, and we use those with UK date rules. They’re for quality when kept somewhere cool, and they run from when you bought the food, not from the printed date:

• high-acid tins, such as tomatoes and fruit: 12 to 18 months
• low-acid tins, such as meat, soup and vegetables: 2 to 5 years
• white rice and dried pasta: about 2 years

The USDA treats these as guides rather than hard limits. A best before date on a pack may be longer or shorter, and the tinned food shelf life look-up has more foods.

When a date doesn’t matter, because the tin does

A good date won’t save a damaged tin. The USDA’s advice is:

• discard tins that are bulging or leaking
• discard heavily rusted tins, which can have tiny holes. Surface rust you can rub off with your finger isn’t serious
• discard deeply dented tins, meaning a dent you can lay your finger into, and any tin with a deep dent on a seam
• if a tin spurts when you open it, don’t taste the food. Bag it up and bin it

What this means for freezer food

Use-by food doesn’t belong in a cupboard stockpile, but your freezer can extend it. GOV.UK says that if you freeze food before the use-by date, it will not deteriorate, because bacteria can’t grow on frozen food. Three things go with that:

• keep the freezer at -18°C
• label what it is and the date you froze it
• use it within 24 hours of defrosting

Don’t rely on this in a power cut. A thawing freezer changes the rules, and the power cut food checker covers what to keep.

Things to treat more carefully

• Opened food. The date on a pack applies while it’s sealed. Once opened, follow the label, which often means the fridge at 5°C or below and a shorter life.
• Baby formula. Use it within its date, and buy it with the date in mind. It’s not the place to test a best before date. The Be Ready checklist suggests ready-to-feed formula, because you may not be able to boil water to make up powder safely.
• Medicines. Their dates work differently from food. Ask your pharmacist, and don’t apply anything on this page to them.

How to keep a stockpile inside its dates

The Be Ready checklist suggests setting a reminder every six months to check expiry dates and swap out anything that needs replacing. If you buy food you’d normally eat, most of this takes care of itself, because the older food goes into ordinary meals and the new food replaces it. First in, first out explains how.

When you count your supplies, be stricter than the rule. Our supplies calculator and the Prep app both count anything past its date as zero, so old stock can’t make your total look better than it is. The food may still be perfectly good to eat, but it’s safer not to plan around it.