A Used by date means a food or drink needs to be used or thrown away by the date specified.  

After the used by date, food is considered unsafe to eat as it may have developed unhealthy bacteria- even if it smells okay.  

In Australia, it is illegal to sell food or beverage products after its used by date.  

A Best before date is different to a used by date. It means a food or drink may still be safe to consume if it hasn’t been damaged. If a product has past the best before date, the quality of the product has likely reduced. This may show as: 

• a loss of colour
• changes in taste
• changes to texture.  

Shops can still legally sell food after the best before date, if a food product is not damaged or spoiled.