When is it safe to eat food in the back of the cupboard?

It is the age-old row in kitchens - when is it safe to eat food in the back of the cupboard that has gone beyond the best before date? Now the UK government has stepped in with the first-ever guide on when food can be eaten and the results are surprising.

The guidance says that some foods can be eaten up to three years after the best-before-date on the packet or can has passed. The rules are designed to encourage companies and other organisations not to throw away food as soon as it passes the best before date during the Covid-19 crisis but will be adopted by households as they consider whether to eat or throw away old cans and packets.

The guidance - from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Food Standards Agency and the UK government's waste adviser Wrap - will confirm suspicions held by many that food that has lain ignored in the backs of kitchen cupboards can be eaten long after its best before dates.

They state that pasta, tinned soup and meat and jars of jam and sauces can all be consumed up to three years from their best before dates, as long as the packet's seal is not broken and the tins are not damaged.

Crisps can be eaten a month after the best before date on the packet - although the guidance advises checking that the crisps are not stale and that "the pack integrity has been maintained", while cake sold in packets can still be consumed three months after the best before date has passed.

It turns out that tinned foods can be safely eaten up to three years past their best before date. Photo / Getty Images

The guidance adds that bread sold in packets can be safe to eat up to a week after the best before date has passed while some fruits and vegetables are still safe to eat a week after the best before date has passed as long as there is no sign of rotting or mould.

Although it warns: "Bakery products should be visually inspected for quality, especially for the presence of mould ... If mould is present, the food should not be redistributed."

Wrap said it had issued the guidance because there was an increased risk of food surplus after the "closure of most of the hospitality sector" during the coronavirus crisis.

A Wrap source said, "the key point is that best before dates are about quality, not safety and appear on a wide range of frozen, dried, tinned and other foods. When the date is passed, it doesn't mean that the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour and texture".

The source added that "once the Best Before date has passed, it's fine to use your senses to judge whether or not to eat the food. If it looks, feels, and smells okay, you should be able to eat it safely".

Peter Maddox, the director of Wrap, said: "Our guide will help by giving clear advice on how best to redistribute food that's exceeded the Best Before date.

"The law states that all food with a Best Before date can be sold, redistributed and consumed after that date, as long as it's still good quality, but we appreciate that isn't understood by all, or universally implemented.

"So, our aim is to make this common practice." He added: "We estimate that over a typical year, around half a billion pounds worth of food is likely to be thrown away from homes linked to a Best Before date, that's 180,000 tonnes.

"Knowing the difference between Best Before and Use By is one of the biggest ways to stop food waste in the home.

"A Best Before date is only a quality guide, and you can use your judgement as to whether it's still good to eat.

"Use By is the safety mark and there to protect us. No food should be sold, redistributed or eaten after the Use By."