| Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, The University of Reading
Food Labelling in the UK - A supporting material page |
Any food which 'from a microbiological point of view, is highly perishable and in consequence likely after a short period of time to constitute an immediate danger to human health' is required to have a 'Use By' date. Many chilled foods come into this category.
This example is from a pack of Minced beef:
The 'Use By' date is given here as dd/mm/yyyy, '05/06/2021'. Storage conditions necessary for the safety of the product are given directly below the 'Use By' date, 'Keep refrigerated 0°C to +5°C'.
This second example is from the lid of a pot of Cottage cheese. In this case only the day and month have been given. As required, storage conditions have also been provided:
