Once the packaging seal is broken, best by and expiration dates no longer apply. Before discarding food past its date, follow these essential steps to determine if it's truly spoiled. Nervous about ...

Don’t toss that food just because the date says so—here’s how to stretch your grocery budget and waste less. Americans toss out roughly $7 billion worth of food annually because of confusion over ...

Confused by food expiration dates? You’re not alone. Experts say those labels often refer to quality—not safety—and ...

Many Americans open the refrigerator, spot a date on a carton or package, and immediately hesitate. Toss it or trust it? Those small printed dates often feel like safety deadlines, but they usually ...

The different types of expiration dates on meat, poultry, egg and dairy products sometimes create confusion. Some have a "sell-by" date. Others come with a "use-by" date. Still others bear a ...

Labels on food are confusing for all kinds of reasons. Here’s what they mean. By Christina Couch When you open your fridge, how often do you check the dates on your food? The yogurt container says ...

Date labels. Expiration dates. Best-by dates. Whatever you call them, at some point, you’ve probably squinted at those tiny dot-matrix-printed numbers and wondered: “Does this mean my cheese might ...