Forget the ‘best before’ date — here's how long food actually lasts in the fridge

The “best before” date isn’t a sign that food is unsafe, experts tell the Star. Here’s how long you can actually store your groceries in the fridge.

By Kevin Jiang Staff Reporter

Thursday, August 10, 2023

While it might seem like common sense to go by the “best before” date on groceries as a sign of remaining shelf-life, experts say the figure is often inaccurate and can lead to food wastage.

Most groceries are good to eat well past their best-by deadline, especially when properly refrigerated, food safety experts tell the Star. As grocery prices continue to soar, this may be welcome news to Canadians looking to make the most of their shopping haul.

That said, there are refrigeration pitfalls that could see your food spoiling sooner than you’d like — or even getting you sick. Here’s how long different groceries last in the fridge, and how experts advise you keep them unspoiled.

“Best before” is a suggestion, not a rule

According to Health Canada’s official website, “you can buy and eat foods after the best-before date has passed” — though foods more easily spoiled, like fresh meat, should be properly refrigerated and eaten as soon as possible, it continues.

The best before date concerns food quality, not safety, said Lawrence Goodridge, a professor of food microbiology at the University of Guelph — while products might not be as fresh or nutritious past this date, it’s usually still safe to eat if properly stored and the packaging is unopened.

Unfortunately, most consumers misunderstand this and take the date as a sign of spoilage, Goodridge continued: “What happens is the best before date comes and people think, ‘Oh, I have to throw it out, it's no longer safe.’ When it's perfectly safe — the best before date has nothing to do with food safety.

“And that does contribute to a lot of food waste,” he said.

Keith Warriner, a professor researching food safety at the University of Guelph, agrees: “Best before dates were a marketing tool (introduced) in the 50s — in a lot of ways, they’re inaccurate.”

There’s little scientific rigour or regulation in determining the dates, Warriner continued, leading to guesswork from companies: “If you look at the science behind best before dates — there's hardly any … Most companies I know just kind of guess at it.”

How to tell when food is actually spoiled

Thankfully, humans have evolved to “instinctively” tell when most foods have gone bad, Warriner said — think of that gut reaction when we smell slimy meat or curdled milk.

He continued that food spoils in three ways: through the growth of microbes, like mould or bacteria; through the breakdown of proteins within the food itself, like in fish; and through chemicals from the environment reacting with and seeping into our food.

These could manifest as different symptoms, depending on the type of food and spoilage. Products might take on a rancid odour or appearance; meats may become slimy, dairy products might clump up or curdle. Visible mould, unnatural colours or a loss of texture are also telltale signs.

That said, it’s unlikely you’ll get a bug that can make you sick from spoiled food in the fridge, Goodridge added — germs that thrive in cold temperatures like the refrigerator often fail when exposed to the heat of our body. Although the nasty taste and smell of food gone bad may make you feel sick nonetheless.

The dangerous germs we need to watch out for grow quickest above 4C and below 60C — a range termed the “temperature danger zone,” Goodridge continued. “Foods generally should not be kept at (room) temperature for more than 2 hours” for this reason, he said.

Dangerous room temperature germs, like salmonella, E. coli or listeria, can make foods unsafe without any obvious signs, Warriner added: “When in doubt, throw it out — it’s not worth the risk.”

How long can you keep fresh meat in the fridge?

Fresh meats, including red meat, poultry and fish, are considered “very high risk foods — not only because they'll spoil quicker than anything else in the fridge, but if they start dripping, those drips could have pathogens like salmonella,” said Warriner.

As such, he recommends storing fresh meats covered and at the bottom of the fridge, where their drips won’t land on other foods.

According to Health Canada, most fresh meats spoil within days. Goodridge recommends picking up cold or frozen meats near the end of your shopping trip to minimize time at room temperature. Warriner said you can even bringing a cooler with you to the store.

Often packaged meats, especially ground meats, turn brown over time, Warriner added. This is due to the packaging cutting off oxygen, and is harmless, he said — though if it starts to smell, that’s a sign to throw it out.

How long can we refrigerate cooked or processed meat?

Cooked meats can be stored a bit longer than their raw counterparts, though you’ll want to finish your leftovers in no more than five days, Warriner said. Health Canada advises three to four days are ideal.

In its original packaging, processed meats like deli meats can have a shelf life of 60 days, Warriner said — though when this seal is broken, the contents can go bad in a week: “When you open up the packaging, you can’t go by the best before date anymore,” he continued.

In either case, Warriner advises wrapping your ready-to-eat stored foods in cling film or foil to prevent contamination, and storing them near the top of your fridge.

How long can you keep dairy products in the fridge?

Milk in particular is “very susceptible” to spoilage, Warriner said, which isn’t helped by Ontario’s penchant for bagged milk that can’t be resealed. He recommends buying milk in a container with a cap for that reason.

“You can certainly have (unopened) bagged milk for 15 days, because it’s heat-treated — but once you open it, you open it up to contamination,” he said, stressing the importance of cleaning your fridge once every few months.

Other dairy products, like yoghurt, cheese and butter, are less susceptible to spoilage though Warriner advises keeping all three in the fridge anyway. Cheese and opened butter can last weeks, even months in the fridge, while unopened yoghurt is good at least until its best before date, according to Health Canada.

Some people, especially in Europe, keep their butter on the counter; this could be all right, if you use the butter quickly, Warriner said.

How long can fruits and vegetables be refrigerated?

According to Goodridge, whole, fresh fruits and vegetables like apples, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes should be stored on the counter, not the fridge. But when we cut up produce or buy pre-cut products like bagged salads, we’ll need to refrigerate them, as outside germs can then contaminate the goods.

Some fruits or veggies release a hormone called ethylene that causes certain nearby products to ripen. As a result, Warriner advises we separate ethylene producers from ethylene sensitive products like broccoli, onions, cauliflower, lettuce or leafy greens.

Common ethylene producers include avocados, apples, bananas, potatoes, peaches, peppers and tomatoes. It’s why you might notice onions will begin sprouting when stored in the fridge next to potatoes (although keeping potatoes in the fridge is a no-no, as it could change their flavour, said Goodridge).

How long do eggs last in the fridge?

Unlike in Europe, North American producers love to wash their eggs, Warriner said. Unfortunately, “this doesn’t do anything” other then remove a protective film from the outside of eggs, making them more susceptible to contamination.

As a result, Canadians need to refrigerate their eggs while Europeans commonly don’t. To minimize contamination risk, store your eggs in their original carton in the fridge, he continued.

Things you don’t need to keep in the fridge

Oftentimes, people refrigerate more than they need to, which can impact the flavour or nutrition of some products, Goodridge said. Aside from keeping whole, fresh fruits and veggies on the counter, he recommends leaving coffee, honey, garlic and dried or canned goods out of the refrigerator.

One contentious point is bread — refrigerating bread can slow mould from growing, but it will also make it stale. It depends how quickly you go through a loaf, but Goodridge prefers to keep his bread on the counter for this reason.

Warriner added that people often refrigerate condiments like ketchup or English mustard, but they don’t need to.

These groceries belong in the fridge (but often aren’t)

People commonly keep vinaigrettes, dressings and pickles in the pantry when they should be refrigerated, as they could support mould, Warriner said. Other items that should be in the fridge include peanut butter and jams, which could harbour dangerous germs when opened.

As a final word of advice, Warriner recommended getting a thermometer for your fridge so you can be sure the temperature is safely at 4C. He also advised not to overstock your fridge, as that can cut off air circulation and raise the temperature.