sell-by date

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Related to sell-by date: shelf life

sell-by date

Public health
The date labelled on most foods in developed countries, especially dairy products, which is usually about 2 weeks from the day the milk was pasteurised, and about 1 week before it expires. An estimated 8 million tonnes of food are needlessly thrown away a year in the UK because of too-strict an adherence to sell-by dates, prompting government food bodies to switch to the phrase “best before” as a way of encouraging people to eat food that might otherwise be prematurely thrown away.

Vox populi-UK
A popular term applied a tedious person, stale witticism, or other thing which has past his, her or its prime, as in ‘that joke is way past its sell-by date”.

Mentioned in ?

expiration date

References in periodicals archive ?

They include corned beef, ham, ham shanks, hog head cheese, pastrami, roast beef, tasso pork and turkey breast with Sell-By dates between May 13 and July 2, the company said.

Meat Recall Broadened To Encompass 468,000 Pounds Of Manda Packing Co Products

Raw Beef Inside skirt steaks in a Styrofoam tray with sell-by dates between 5/4 and 6/20

H-E-B Issues Voluntary Recall For JBS Swift Beef Products

MORE than a quarter of sandwiches and ready-to-eat foods sold in corner shops in Wirral were found to be past their sell-by dates, according to Trading Standards inspections.

Corner shop sandwiches fail to cut the mustard; 27% on sale were past sell-by date

The food included meat, soup, pasta sauces and yoghurt, some of which were six days past their sell-by date.

'Dated' food costs pounds 19,000; Asda in court over food past its sell-by date

Shopkeeper Marco Zeraschi called in the inspectors after Cardiff mum Kelly Watton bought a chocolate nougat bar that appeared to be 23 years past its sell-by date.

Unwrapped!The mysteryof 'out-of-date' bar

Five items in the cabinet at the Kwik Save store in Blyth were found to be up to eight days past their sell-by date when food inspectors called, magistrates at Bedlington Law Courts were told.

Food fine for store

The group is also working on introducing chips embedded in food packaging alerting staff to items close to their sell-by date.

M&S tries tricks with technology

The sisters, who make wafers and liqueurs and bind books to earn a modest income, have had to put a one-year sell-by date on their boxes.

IS NOTHING SACRED; Wafers red tape takes the biscuit

COOKED MEATS: Throw these out a day after their sell-by date, unless you re-cook thoroughly until piping hot.

Your LIFE: Should you trust SELL-BY DATES? FOOD DOMESTIC GODDESS NIGELLA LAWSON HAS ADMITTED EATING FOOD PAST ITS SELL-BY DATE. SO ARE WE THROWING OUT PERFECTLY GOOD FOOD TOO HASTILY?

Trading standards officers who carried out inspections at the Kwik Save stores in Binley Road and Walsgrave Road in July last year+ identified items up to a week past their sell-by date, city magistrates heard yesterday.

Store chain in sell-by dates fine

SHOPPERS could be buying chicken past its sell-by date, it emerged yesterday.

FIRMS CON SHOPPERS WITH OLD CHICKENS; And it's legal, say experts

Darren Burleigh, defending, said the company took its responsibilities to its customers very seriously and had strict procedures in place to ensure, as far as possible, that food past its sell-by date was removed from the shelves.