Best-Before Date
Definition
A date marking on food labels indicating the date until which the food will remain at its best quality if properly stored. Food may still be safe to consume after this date.
Key Takeaways
- •A best-before date signals quality decline, not a safety cut-off — food may still be legally sold and consumed after this date
- •Required under FSANZ Standard 1.2.5 on most packaged foods; exempt foods include plain water, vinegar, and alcohol over 10%
- •Must be formatted as 'Best Before DD/MM/YYYY' or 'BB DD/MM/YYYY' unless shelf life exceeds two years
- •Shelf life must be validated by testing — using a competitor's date or guessing is not compliant
- •Distinct from use-by dates, which mark an absolute safety limit and must not be exceeded regardless of appearance
Regulatory Source
- Standard 1.2.5— Date marking of food for sale — mandatory best-before date format and placement rules
Last verified against current standards: April 2026
Regulatory authority: Food Standards Australia New Zealand
What is a Best-Before Date?
A best-before date indicates the date after which a food may decline in quality — flavour, texture, aroma, or nutritional value — but is not necessarily unsafe to eat. Under FSANZ Standard 1.2.5, a best-before date is mandatory on most packaged foods except those with a use-by date or those specifically exempted (e.g. some shelf-stable foods with a shelf life exceeding two years).
The legal distinction is critical: a food past its best-before date can legally be sold (though in practice most retailers remove it), whereas food past its use-by date must not be sold. For consumers, "best-before" signals declining quality; "use-by" signals a food safety risk.
Best-Before Date Format and Placement Under Standard 1.2.5
FSANZ specifies the exact format and placement of best-before dates:
- Format: "Best before" (or "BB") followed by day-month-year in that order (e.g. "BB 15-08-2024")
- Placement: Must be prominently displayed on the principal display panel (the front of the pack) or on a clearly visible location on the pack
- Legibility: Minimum font size is determined by the pack size; small packs have proportionally smaller minimum font sizes
- Language: Must be in English
Foods with a shelf life of two years or longer, and some foods such as table salt and vinegar, are exempt from best-before date requirements under Standard 1.2.5.
Best-Before Dates in Practice for Australian Food Manufacturers
What determines shelf life and best-before dating? Shelf life is determined by the manufacturer through stability testing — storing the product under defined conditions and periodically testing for quality parameters (texture, colour, flavour, microbiological growth, rancidity). For most chilled products, shelf life is set conservatively based on the time to reach maximum permitted microbial levels; for shelf-stable products, stability testing typically covers at least the claimed shelf life period.
Common mistakes:
Copying shelf life from similar products without justification. If you manufacture a new pasta sauce variant, you cannot assume it has the same shelf life as an existing variant without testing. Different ingredients (e.g. added garlic, lower salt, presence of nuts) have different microbiological stability profiles.
Dating packs at production rather than allowing for distribution time. A product with a 12-month shelf life cannot have a best-before date set to 12 months from production day if it sits in a warehouse for 3 months before reaching a consumer. Best-before dates should be set to account for a realistic distribution and retail display period.
Using printed dates instead of applying the best-before date at point of pack closure. If you print "BB 15-08-2024" and then the pack sits on a production line for a month before being sealed, the date is already wrong. Variable-print systems that apply the date after the pack is closed and sealed avoid this risk.
Worked example: A Melbourne prepared meal manufacturer produces frozen shepherd's pie. Stability testing at -18°C shows that microbial growth and fat oxidation remain acceptable for 24 months. They set the best-before date to 12 months to provide a margin of safety and to account for potential freezer temperature fluctuations in retail. Packs are dated at the point of seal, and they apply a 3-month distribution window to the expected shelf life.
How Batchbase Handles Best-Before Dating
When you set up a product in Batchbase, you specify its shelf life (e.g. 12 months for frozen, 21 days for chilled). When you record production of that product, Batchbase calculates and displays the best-before date — typically 12 months from the production date for shelf-stable products, or from the pack date for chilled products. This date can be verified before the pack is printed or sealed.
Related Standards and References
- FSANZ Standard 1.2.5 — Date marking of food for sale
- FSANZ food standards code
Related Terms
Date Marking
The use of best-before or use-by dates on food packaging. Use-by dates indicate food safety limits and must not be exceeded. Best-before dates indicate quality and the food may still be safe after the date.
Food Standards Code
The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code — the collection of standards governing food composition, labelling, safety, and production maintained by FSANZ.
Use-By Date
A date marking on food labels indicating the last date on which the food may be safely consumed. After the use-by date, the food must not be sold or consumed.