Best-Before Date and Use-By Date

Overview

Best-before date and use-by date are date labeling systems used to indicate how long food can maintain its quality or safety when stored under the stated conditions.

In Japanese food labeling practice, either a best-before date or a use-by date is displayed depending on the nature of the food.

A best-before date indicates the date until which the expected quality of the food is sufficiently maintained when stored according to the stated method.

A use-by date indicates the date until which the food is considered safe to consume when stored according to the stated method.

Difference Between Best-Before Date and Use-By Date

A best-before date is generally used for foods whose quality deteriorates relatively slowly.

Examples may include confectionery, cup noodles, canned foods, seasonings, retort-pouch foods and other foods that can be stored for a certain period.

A use-by date is generally used for foods that deteriorate quickly and require closer attention to safety.

Examples may include boxed meals, prepared dishes, fresh cakes, sandwiches and other perishable foods.

The practical distinction is simple: best-before date is mainly about quality, while use-by date is more directly connected with food safety.

Important Points for Imported Foods

For imported foods, the date shown on the overseas label cannot always be used directly as the Japanese date label.

Date order, date format and the meaning of the date wording may differ depending on the country, manufacturer and product category.

Particular care is needed for differences such as month-day-year, day-month-year and year-month-day formats.

Terms such as “Best Before,” “Use By,” “Expiry Date,” “Expiration Date,” “Manufacturing Date,” “Production Date” and “Packed Date” should not be treated as identical without confirmation.

Before importing or selling the product in Japan, the importer should confirm the basis of the shelf-life setting, manufacturing date, best-before or use-by date, and storage conditions with the overseas manufacturer.

Common Date Format Risks

Date format mistakes are a common practical problem in imported food handling.

For example, “03/04/2026” may mean March 4 or April 3 depending on the country’s date convention. If this is misunderstood, the Japanese label may show an incorrect date.

This can create problems not only in food labeling, but also in inventory control, warehouse handling, discount sales, product recalls and customer complaints.

Importers should confirm the manufacturer’s intended date format in writing before preparing Japanese labels or selling the product.

Relationship With Storage Conditions

Best-before and use-by dates must be considered together with storage conditions.

The date is based on the assumption that the food is stored according to the stated method, such as “store at room temperature away from direct sunlight,” “keep refrigerated,” or “keep frozen.”

For foods requiring temperature control, the transport condition, warehouse storage and domestic delivery management also become important.

For refrigerated or frozen foods, a temperature deviation during transport or storage may create a sales or safety problem even if the displayed date has not yet passed.

Imported Food Transport and Warehouse Management

For imported foods, date labeling should not be checked only at the label design stage.

The importer should also check whether the remaining shelf life after import is commercially sufficient for customs clearance, warehouse storage, domestic distribution and retail sale.

Products with a short remaining shelf life may create problems in wholesale acceptance, online sales, discount sales or consumer complaints.

If the product is temperature-sensitive, the importer should keep records of transport temperature, warehouse temperature and any temperature deviation during the logistics process.

Relationship With Advertising and Sales Display

Best-before and use-by dates are not only package-label issues. They may also affect online product pages, inventory sales, discount sales, set sales and campaign displays.

When selling foods close to their date, businesses should avoid displays that mislead consumers about freshness, quality, remaining shelf life or storage condition.

Selling products after the relevant date, or selling products based on a misread overseas date, may create food labeling, hygiene control and credibility problems.

For online sales, the product page, shipping timing and actual remaining shelf life should be managed carefully, especially for imported foods, refrigerated foods, frozen foods and seasonal products.

Best-Before Date Does Not Always Mean Immediate Disposal

A best-before date indicates the period during which the expected quality is sufficiently maintained under the stated storage conditions.

It does not always mean that the food immediately becomes unsafe after the date passes.

However, from a business operator’s perspective, selling or advertising food after the best-before date requires careful handling because consumer misunderstanding, quality complaints and sales-channel rules may become issues.

Businesses should distinguish consumer understanding, sales policy, food loss measures and legal labeling obligations.

Use-By Date Requires Stronger Caution

A use-by date is used for foods where safety deterioration is more important.

For this reason, foods past the use-by date should be handled much more cautiously than foods past a best-before date.

For perishable foods, improper temperature control, delayed delivery or incorrect date labeling can directly lead to food safety problems.

Importers and sellers should therefore manage use-by date products with stricter stock control, storage control and delivery control.

Information to Obtain From Overseas Manufacturers

For imported foods, the Japanese importer should obtain the necessary information before preparing the Japanese label.

• Manufacturing date or production date
• Best-before date or use-by date intended by the manufacturer
• Date format used on the overseas label
• Storage conditions before and after opening
• Shelf-life setting basis
• Stability test data or quality control information, where available
• Temperature control requirements during transport
• Remaining shelf-life requirements for export or distribution

These points should be confirmed before import, not only after the cargo arrives in Japan.

Practical Points for Imported Food Businesses

When checking best-before and use-by dates, businesses should review the nature of the food, the type of date label, the date format, the storage method, the evidence supporting the shelf life, and the transport and storage conditions.

Imported food businesses should not simply copy the overseas date onto the Japanese label.

They should confirm whether the date can be properly displayed as a best-before date or use-by date under Japanese practice.

Particular care is needed where the overseas label uses “Expiry Date” or “Expiration Date,” because the meaning may not match the Japanese distinction between best-before date and use-by date.

Checklist Before Sale in Japan

Before selling imported food products in Japan, check the following points:

• Is the product suitable for best-before date labeling or use-by date labeling?
• Is the date format on the overseas label clearly understood?
• Has the manufacturer confirmed whether the date means best-before, use-by, expiry, manufacturing or packing date?
• Are the storage conditions clearly stated?
• Is the remaining shelf life sufficient for customs clearance, storage, distribution and retail sale?
• For refrigerated or frozen foods, has temperature control during transport and storage been checked?
• Is there a shelf-life basis such as product specification, quality data or manufacturer confirmation?
• Are online product pages, discount sales and set sales consistent with the actual remaining shelf life?
• Has the Japanese label been prepared under Japanese food labeling practice, rather than by simply copying the overseas label?

Practical Points for Overseas Suppliers

Overseas suppliers exporting food products to Japan should clearly explain the meaning of date labels used on their products.

They should provide the date format, manufacturing date, shelf-life period, storage condition and the basis for the shelf-life setting.

If the product requires refrigeration or freezing, the supplier should also provide temperature control requirements and information needed for transport and storage management.

This helps the Japanese importer avoid date misreading, incorrect labeling and distribution problems after import.

Common Mistakes

Common mistakes include misreading overseas date formats, confusing best-before date with use-by date, treating “Expiry Date” as automatically equivalent to the Japanese use-by date, and preparing the Japanese label without confirming the manufacturer’s intention.

Another common mistake is checking the date label only on the package while ignoring online sales pages, stock rotation, discount sales, set sales and remaining shelf-life rules of retailers.

For temperature-controlled foods, failing to connect the date label with transport and storage temperature records can also create practical problems.

Key Takeaway

Best-before date and use-by date are basic but important food labeling items in Japan.

For imported foods, overseas date labels cannot always be copied directly. The importer must confirm the meaning of the date, the date format, the storage conditions and the shelf-life basis.

Best-before date is mainly connected with quality, while use-by date is more closely connected with safety. Importers and overseas suppliers should manage date labeling together with transport, storage, online sales and remaining shelf-life control.