Two dates on food packages mean different things. Which one is about safety (turvallisuus)?
Ruokapakkauksessalukeeusein “parastaennen” tai “viimeinenkäyttöpäivä”.Neeivättarkoitasamaaasiaa.Jostunneteron, tiedätparemmin, voikoruokaavieläkäyttää.Samallavoitvälttääturhaaruokahävikkiä.
On food packaging it often says “best before” (parasta ennen) or “use-by date” (viimeinen käyttöpäivä). They do not mean the same thing. If you know the difference, you know better whether food can still be used. At the same time, you can avoid unnecessary food waste.
“Best before” tells above all about the product’s quality. After the date, the food is not automatically spoiled. For example, dry foods and many other products can often still be used later. Check the food with your own senses: look, smell, and if necessary taste a little. If the product looks, smells and tastes normal, it can usually be used.
“Use-by date” is instead connected with food safety. The marking is used on easily perishable products, for example minced meat and fresh fish. The product must be used no later than the date marked on the package. After that, it should no longer be eaten.
Let us think, for example, about a refrigerator. There is yogurt there whose best-before date was yesterday. If the yogurt looks and smells normal, it may perhaps still be eaten. There is also minced meat in the refrigerator whose use-by date was yesterday. It should no longer be used. Here the most important difference between the markings is visible.
Correct storage is also important. Read on the package whether the product should be stored, for example, in a refrigerator. If the use-by date is approaching, use the food in time. A suitable product can also be frozen before the use-by date. In this way, food does not need to be thrown away unnecessarily.
An easy rule to remember is this: best before usually tells about quality, use-by date about safety. After the best-before date, check the product. After the use-by date, do not use the product anymore. When you remember this difference, the dates on food packages are much easier to understand.
Word bank
Every word as it appears in the text, its base form, what the ending does, and the meaning.
ruokapakkaus · noun · inessive singular
on food packaging
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ero · noun · accusative singular (genitive-shaped object)
