How to use food shelf-life labels
Safer Food Scores Food date labels are one of the most important food safety controls in any catering, hospitality or food manufacturing business. A clear and effective food labelling system helps prevent out-of-date food from being used or sold, supports stock rotation and reduces food waste.
Despite their importance, missing or incorrectly completed food date labels remain one of the most common issues identified during food safety audits and Environmental Health Officer (EHO) inspections.
This guide explains how to choose the right food date labels, determine safe shelf-lives and train your team to apply labels correctly.
Why Are Food Date Labels Important?
Food date labels help businesses:
- Prevent unsafe food from being used or served.
- Comply with HACCP requirements.
- Demonstrate effective food safety management.
- Improve stock rotation using the First In, First Out (FIFO) principle.
- Reduce food waste and unnecessary costs.
- Prepare for food hygiene inspections and audits.
Where foods are stored in containers, opened, prepared, frozen, defrosted or repackaged, date labels should be applied unless the original packaging and supplier date code remain intact and visible.
Choosing the Best Food Date Labels
A simple food labelling system is usually the most effective.
Many businesses make the mistake of using multiple label types for different products or processes. This often leads to confusion and inconsistent application by team members.
Ideally, food date labels should be suitable for:
- Ambient foods
- Chilled foods
- Frozen foods
- Defrosted foods
- Prepared foods
- Opened foods
Avoid Overly Complicated Labelling Systems
Colour-coded day-of-the-week labels are commonly used in catering operations. However, they can create confusion if staff interpret them differently.
For example:
- One chef may use the colour to indicate the day a product was prepared.
- Another may use it to indicate the discard date.
This inconsistency can increase the risk of food being kept beyond its safe shelf-life.
Features to Look for in Food Shelf-Life Labels
The best food date labels should be:
- Easy to write on.
- Suitable for freezer storage.
- Securely adhesive but removable.
- Easy to peel off before washing containers.
- Resistant to moisture and condensation.
- Simple for staff to understand and apply consistently.
Some labels dissolve in dishwashers, although these are generally more expensive than standard peelable labels.
How to Determine Safe Food Shelf-Lives
Assigning an excessive shelf-life to food can create a serious food safety risk.
Food poisoning bacteria such as Listeria can continue to grow during refrigerated storage. Food that appears fresh may still be unsafe to eat if it has exceeded its safe use-by period.
It is important to remember:
Use By Dates
Use-by dates relate to food safety.
Food should not be consumed after its use-by date, even if it looks and smells acceptable.
Best Before Dates
Best-before dates relate to quality.
Food may lose flavour, texture or appearance after the best-before date but is not necessarily unsafe to consume.
Recommended Food Shelf-Lives for Catering Businesses
The following examples are commonly used in catering operations. Businesses should always consider their own processes, ingredients and risks when setting shelf-lives.
| Food Type | Recommended Shelf-Life |
|---|---|
| Chilled foods prepared in-house | Use By: 3 days (including day made) |
| Chilled foods purchased from suppliers | Follow manufacturer’s “once opened” guidance |
| Chilled ready-to-eat foods vacuum packed in-house | Use By: 5 days (including packing day) or original use-by date, whichever is sooner |
| Chilled raw foods vacuum packed in-house | Use By: 10 days (including packing day) |
| Frozen foods prepared in-house | Best Before: 3 months |
| Defrosted foods | Use By: 2 days (including thawing day) |
| Ambient foods requiring refrigeration after opening | Follow manufacturer’s “once opened” guidance |
| Ambient foods decanted into storage containers | Best Before: Original manufacturer’s best-before date |
A Note on Freezing Food
Foods should generally only be frozen when sufficient shelf-life remains. As a guide, food should have at least two days of shelf-life remaining before freezing.
Training Staff to Apply Food Date Labels Correctly
Even the best food labelling system will fail if staff are not properly trained.
During food safety audits, common date labelling failures include:
- Missing labels.
- Incorrect dates.
- Illegible handwriting.
- Multiple labels applied to the same container.
- Out-of-date food remaining in storage.
These failures often occur because of:
- Time pressures.
- Insufficient training.
- Poor supervision.
- Complex labelling systems.
- Lack of clear shelf-life guidance.
How to Improve Food Date Labelling Compliance
To improve consistency and reduce food safety risks:
Train All Team Members
Ensure employees understand:
- Why food date labels are important.
- How to calculate shelf-lives correctly.
- When labels should be applied.
- When food must be discarded.
Display Shelf-Life Guidance
Place clear shelf-life charts or posters near food preparation and labelling stations so staff can quickly check the correct shelf-life for different products.
Carry Out Regular Checks
Managers and supervisors should routinely check:
- Label accuracy.
- Stock rotation practices.
- Expired food controls.
- Compliance with documented procedures.
Food Date Labels and Food Hygiene Ratings
Incorrect date labelling can have a significant impact on your food hygiene rating.
The presence of out-of-date food is viewed seriously by Environmental Health Officers because it indicates a failure of critical food safety controls.
A simple, consistent and well-managed food date labelling system can help protect your customers, improve compliance and support higher food hygiene ratings.
How Can Safer Food Scores Help?
Safer Food Scores supplies high-quality food date labels and practical shelf-life guidance tools to help businesses improve compliance and reduce food safety risks.
We can also advise on digital food labelling systems that automate date calculations, reduce administration time and minimise the risk of human error.
Contact us to find out how we can help your business implement a safer and more effective food labelling system.
Any guidance given in our articles is not official and Safer Food Scores can take no responsibility if the information is used to form part of any legal or regulatory compliance for your business. However, please do get in touch if you are interested in our support services and would like to benefit from official guidance relating to your particular circumstances, email [javascript protected email address]
