Best-Before Date and Use-By Date under the Japanese Food Labeling Standards

Overview

Best-before date and use-by date labeling in Japan refers to the system under which a food product indicates the date until which its quality or safety is maintained when stored under the specified conditions.

Under Japanese food labeling practice, either a best-before date or a use-by date is indicated depending on the nature of the food. The distinction is important because the two dates have different meanings in relation to quality, safety and sales control.

Difference Between Best-Before Date and Use-By Date

A best-before date indicates the date until which the expected quality of the food can be sufficiently maintained if the food is stored in the specified manner. It is generally used for foods whose quality deteriorates relatively slowly.

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

A use-by date indicates the date until which the food can be safely consumed when stored in the specified manner. It is generally used for foods that deteriorate quickly and require greater care from a food safety viewpoint.

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

Practical Points for Imported Foods

For imported foods, date information shown on the overseas label cannot always be used directly as the Japanese date label. Date order, date format and the meaning of the wording may differ depending on the country, manufacturer or product category.

Particular care is required when reading date formats such as month-day-year, day-month-year and year-month-day. The meaning of expressions such as “Best Before,” “Use By,” “Expiry Date,” “Expiration Date” and “Manufacturing Date” should also be confirmed before preparing the Japanese label.

In some cases, the manufacturing date is used to calculate the best-before date or use-by date according to the product’s shelf life. Therefore, importers should confirm not only the printed date itself, but also whether it represents the manufacturing date, the expiry-related date, or the basis for calculating the Japanese date label.

Before importation, the importer should confirm the basis for setting the date, manufacturing date, best-before or use-by date, shelf life, and storage conditions with the overseas manufacturer. This is especially important where the remaining shelf life at the time of importation affects sales planning or retailer acceptance.

Relationship with Storage Conditions

Date labeling must be reviewed together with the applicable storage conditions. The date is normally set on the assumption that the product is stored under the stated conditions, such as “store at room temperature away from direct sunlight,” “keep refrigerated,” or “keep frozen.”

For foods requiring temperature control during transportation or storage, the logistics conditions at importation, warehouse storage and domestic delivery are also important. For chilled or frozen products, a temperature deviation during transportation may create a sales or quality control issue even if the label date has not yet passed.

Relationship with Advertising and Sales Descriptions

Best-before and use-by dates are not only package label issues. They may also be relevant to e-commerce product descriptions, inventory sales, discount sales, set sales and clearance campaigns.

When selling foods close to their date, the seller should avoid expressions that may mislead consumers about the remaining period, freshness or storage condition of the product. Selling expired products or misreading overseas date labels may create not only a labeling issue but also a food safety and business reputation issue.

Practical Checklist

When reviewing best-before date and use-by date labeling, the first step is to confirm the nature of the product, the type of date required, the date format, storage conditions, supporting documents for shelf life setting, and transportation and storage conditions.

Businesses handling imported foods should not simply copy the date shown on the overseas label. They should confirm whether the date can be properly shown as a best-before date or use-by date under Japanese labeling practice. Misreading the date format is a common practical risk and should be checked before importation.

In practice, the following points should be checked:

• whether the product requires a best-before date or a use-by date;
• whether the date shown on the overseas label is a best-before date, use-by date, expiry date, expiration date or manufacturing date;
• whether the date format is month-day-year, day-month-year or year-month-day;
• whether the manufacturing date is used to calculate the Japanese best-before date or use-by date;
• whether the Japanese label uses an appropriate date indication format;
• whether the storage condition on the Japanese label matches the shelf life setting;
• whether shelf life data or manufacturer confirmation is available;
• whether transportation, warehouse storage and domestic delivery conditions are consistent with the stated storage condition;
• whether e-commerce pages, advertisements and discount sales descriptions do not mislead consumers about freshness or remaining shelf life.

Why This Matters for Overseas Suppliers and Export-Side Freight Forwarders

For overseas suppliers, exporters, customs brokers and export-side freight forwarders, date labeling may appear to be a simple matter of copying the date from the original package. In Japanese import practice, however, the meaning of the date, date format and storage condition must be checked carefully before the product is sold.

The practical issue is not only whether a date is printed on the package. The Japanese importer must understand what the date means, how it was set, what storage condition supports it, and whether the remaining shelf life is acceptable for Japanese distribution. Early confirmation helps prevent label corrections, sales delays, retailer objections, stock disposal costs and disputes after importation.