We are going to talk about a topic that consumers often wonder about and is researched by new companies. What is the shelf life and best-before date?

Whether at home or in the factory, there are conditions to consider when producing food. Hygiene is one of these conditions, and the main objective is to prevent creating a condition that will negatively affect health after consuming food.

The definition of shelf life is based on this. Shelf life is the period of time when a food is stored under the specified conditions and maintains the desired properties. These properties may be related to product quality, safety, chemical stability, or physical stability.

The label on the shelf life shows two different expressions: UBD or BBD.

UBD, or use by date, the last consumption date, indicates the lifetime of the food when it is stored in appropriate conditions that will not affect health negatively.

On the other hand, there is no mention of any health risks associated with the consumption of food after the best-before date. There can be changes in taste, aroma, appearance, vitamin content, and so on. It is the period in which the features are preserved. There is no safety risk consuming the food after the best-before date if the food is kept in the proper conditions.

Why were these two distinctions made? Daily food waste is known to feed millions of hungry people. Fruit, vegetables, and bakery products are the most wasted foods. Many of these products are disposed of while still being eaten because it is thought that they cannot be consumed because they wait a long time. We must remember that when food is thrown into the trash, many other values, like energy, labor, transportation costs, packaging, etc., are also going to the trash. So it's not just the food that's wasted.

It is important for our future that the issue of shelf life, which imposes significant responsibility on both producers and consumers, be taken into consideration in food science.

You can get more information about shelf life and contact us for consulting services.