Jam can last up to five years after the best-before date, UK charity says

There’s a big misconception when it comes to expiration dates, as many people think that once the use-by or best-before date on an item has passed, the food becomes inedible, but that isn’t always the case. A food waste organisation in the UK is encouraging people to use food past its best-before date, as supermarket shelves are left empty amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Wrap reckons jam can be safe to eat up to five years past its date if stored correctly while dried pasta can be eaten three years later. Canned meat and soup, sweets, drinks and pasta sauces can last up to a year while biscuits and cereals can be eaten six months after the best-before date. Chips are fine for up to one month.

Bread and bakery products remain good to eat for between two days for bread, and up to one week for other packaged bakery products. Meanwhile, fresh fruit and vegetables stay fresh for longer if stored in a fridge, below 5 degrees, and in their original packaging.

“Knowing the difference between best-before and use-by is one of the biggest ways to stop food waste in the home,” Peter Maddox, director at Wrap, said. “A best before date is only a quality guide, and you can use your judgement as to whether it’s still good to eat. Use-by is the safety mark and there to protect us. No food should be sold, redistributed or eaten after the use-by.”

Mark Game, CEO of UK charity The Bread and Butter Thing, added: “The Covid-19 pandemic has presented people with the opportunity to reassess their relationship with food. It means we think twice before we throw away edible food and will increasingly shift perceptions around concepts such as best-before dates.”

It comes after experts from the team at Magnet Kitchens detailed how long everyday leftovers will generally last in both the fridge and freezer. Foods that lasted the longest in the fridge included quinoa, lentils, bacon, cooked veggies and cooked eggs, which are all still edible for seven days, while the freezer could hold nuts and seeds and eggs for a whole year and vegetables for up to ten months.

Those less sustainable foods in the fridge included smoothies, which only lasted one day, while chicken, turkey, minced beef, beef burgers and pork sausages could all last two days. Meanwhile, pork is only good in the freezer for two months, and casseroles, lentils, soups, sauces, pasta and rice could last up to three months in the freezer.