Sell by, best by, and use by are all labels that we commonly see on foods in the grocery store. They are on just about anything that is packaged, from milk and bagged produce to cookies and soda. Is there really a difference between the terms, and if so, what is it?
BusinessWeek actually has some of the answers for us. A "sell by" date is one that indicates to a store how long the product should be offered for sale, although such a product will almost always be good for at least a few days beyond that date. A "best by" date means that the flavor or texture of a food will begin to decline at that point. The "use by" date is the real expiration date. Beyond it, there is no guarantee that the food will be fresh and tasty or that it will retain all of the nutrients that it started out with. The overall quality of the product can begin to decrease and you're probably better of just starting again with a fresh bottle/can/bag.
The best strategy is to buy foods in small batches so you don't have to worry about expiration dates of any sort coming on too quickly, but keep the dates in mind as you shop for reference points, and choose products with further dates if you know you're not going to be consuming everything you buy in a short period of time.
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