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Begley's Bargains: Explaining expiration dates on food

Brittany clarifies some tricky grocery store terms like "sell by”, “best if used by”, and “use by” to make sure you don't waste any food!

Let's face it, living in California is expensive, especially at the grocery store.

That's why in this week's Begley's Bargains, we are clarifying some tricky grocery store terms on dates listed as "sell by”, “best if used by”, and “use by” to make sure you don't waste any food!

Sell-By Date

This one is less about you and more about the retailer.

Simply put, it's a reminder for the store to rotate products off the shelves. So milk, for example, if properly stored, should last 5 to 7 days past that “Sell-By Date”.

Best Used-By Date

This one gets me every time. Can I really eat something if it's past the “Best Used-By Date”? According to the USDA, the answer is yes!

This is just an indicator of quality. So your salsa is still safe to eat; it just might not taste as fresh.

Use-By Date

According to Consumer Reports, this one should be taken more seriously. Use-By Date is the manufacturer's last day to use the item.

When it comes to meat, poultry or eggs, you don't want to risk going past the Use-By Date on these items.

Continue the conversation with Brittany on Facebook.

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