Many people want to immediately throw away food once the date on the food arrives, but if you look in the refrigerator or in the cabinet and the date passes, the food should still be safe to consume if handled correctly until you see or smell evidence of spoilage (refrigerate or freeze items promptly). This applies to all food except baby food as stated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture . There are strict guidelines for baby food. One example of improper food handling is when you are at a picnic and you leave the potato salad out in temperature of 40°F or higher for more than two hours. Don’t consume it! You must keep foods like this on ice.
Manufacturer’s dates on food are there to help consumers and retailers to determine when food is at its best quality. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, it may surprise you to know, dates are not an indication of product safety, except infant formula, and are not required by Federal Law.
Although the FDA Food Code states that food should be thrown out in seven days, the reality is, many people keep food longer than seven days. For those that do, foodsafety.gov has a chart that tells you just how long before you really need to toss your food. It will also tell you about managing your food during certain events like picnics and holidays like Thanksgiving. How to keep your food safe if the power goes out. Knowing good food safety can keep you and your family safe and out of the emergency room!