Use by vs best before, and day dot labelling in commercial kitchens

Open any walk-in fridge at 10pm on a Saturday and you'll see the problem: half-used tubs of sauce with no label, a mystery container of something brown, and three different people's ideas of what "Tuesday" looks like on a sticker. Labelling is the cheapest food safety control in the kitchen, and the one that falls apart first when service gets busy.

This guide covers the difference between use-by and best before, how long prepared food can be kept, and how to run a day dot or prep label system that everyone actually follows.

Use by vs best before: the short version

GOV.UK puts it simply: use-by dates tell you when food is no longer safe to eat; best before dates tell you when food might start to reduce in quality. A use-by date should only appear where eating the food after that date is a safety issue.

What the law says for food businesses

• You must not sell or serve food past its use-by date. GOV.UK says it's a criminal offence to sell food past its use-by date. The FSA's SFBB pack says food cannot be supplied or served after its use-by date.
• Chilled food must stay chilled. Foods with a use-by date, food that says "keep refrigerated", food you've cooked and won't serve immediately, and ready-to-eat food all need to be kept chilled. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland that means 8°C or below by law; Scotland recommends the same.
• Pre-packed food needs a date. Food you buy pre-packed must usually carry a best before or use-by date. Food you pack yourself before the customer orders (prepacked for direct sale) has its own labelling rules: the name of the food and a full ingredients list with allergens emphasised. See Natasha's Law explained.

How long can you keep food you've prepared?

This is where kitchens need their own rules, because the food you cook or open on site doesn't come with a date.

The FSA's Safer Food, Better Business pack gives a clear default: high-risk ready-to-eat foods should be kept for a maximum of 3 days in total (day of cooking or opening + 2), unless you have evidence that it is safe to keep them for longer.

So:

Two exceptions:

• Manufacturer's instructions win if they're shorter. If a jar says "once opened, use within 2 days", that's your limit, even though the 3-day default would give you longer.
• The original use-by date still applies. Opening a pack of ham on its use-by date doesn't give it two more days.

"Evidence that it's safe to keep them longer" means something you can show an officer, such as a manufacturer's shelf-life or a validated process in your food safety system. "It always looks fine on day four" is not evidence.

Day dots and prep labels: how to run them

Day dots are coloured stickers, one colour per day of the week. They're popular because a chef can see at a glance whether a tub is from today or three days ago. There's no legal colour scheme, so the only rule is consistency: one system, the same in every fridge, and explained to every new starter.

What to put on the label

At minimum:

1. What it is. "Tomato sauce" not "sauce".
2. Date made or opened.
3. Use by (the last day it can be served).

Many kitchens also add:

4. Initials of who made it.
5. Key allergens, especially for sauces, dressings and bases used across several dishes.

If you decant food from its original packaging (for example, into a storage tub), the FSA's stock control guidance says to note the name of the food, its ingredients and the use-by or best before date from the original pack. That's how allergen information survives the transfer.

Make it a closing check

The FSA's SFBB closing checks include two that cover labelling:

• all food is covered, labelled and put in the fridge or freezer
• food on its use-by date has been thrown away

Do them every night. The person closing walks every fridge, bins anything at the end of its life and labels anything that's been missed.

Rotate stock

Use first in, first out. New stock goes behind old stock. If labels aren't clear, newer food gets used first and older food goes out of date at the back.

Freezing and defrosting

• Freeze before the use-by date. GOV.UK's food hygiene guidance tells businesses to freeze fresh food before its use-by date and note the date they froze it.
• Label everything you freeze. The FSA says to have a system so frozen food is clearly labelled with the date it was frozen, so old stock isn't left at the bottom.
• Defrost properly. Food must be fully defrosted before cooking unless the manufacturer says to cook from frozen. Defrost in the fridge where possible.
• Use defrosted food promptly. GOV.UK's food labelling guidance says once food is defrosted, use it within 24 hours.

Don't forget the bar

Labelling isn't only a kitchen job. Bars hold plenty of food that needs a date: cut lemons and limes, garnish trays, opened cartons of milk or cream for coffees and cocktails, sugar syrups and fruit purées you make yourself, and opened jars of olives or cherries. Treat them the same way:

• label anything you prepare or open with what it is and its use-by date
• follow "once opened" instructions on bought-in products
• keep anything that says "keep refrigerated" in the bar fridge, not on the back bar
• add the bar fridge to your closing walk-round, so out-of-date garnish and opened cartons go in the bin at night

Common labelling mistakes

How ShiftComplete helps

ShiftComplete won't print your labels, but it makes sure the checks that keep them honest get done:

• Closing checklists with "all food covered and labelled" and "use-by food thrown away" as ticks, named and timestamped. You can require a photo of the fridge shelf before it can be ticked off.
• Checklists that differ by weekday, so the Monday deep clean of the walk-in or the Thursday freezer sort is only on the days it's due.
• Temperature logs for every fridge and freezer with its own safe range, so out-of-range readings are flagged before food is put at risk.
• An allergen matrix with every dish mapped to the 14 allergens, so front-of-house can answer questions without guessing.

It helps you keep the records an EHO asks to see. £1.49 per staff member per month, free for 60 days with no card needed.