I take a very practical view on dates.crafty1289 said:Most (wrapped) fruit and veg comes with a "display until" date when we consider it to become "not fresh" on that date, so we reduce its price on that date but still display it. Often we oblitterate the date or tear off the label and display it anyway, things like swedes last so long yet have a supposed shelf life of 3 days or something daft. With fruit and veg it is often a case of using your own judgement to determine what to reduce.
with ambient "best before" items (tins, jars, crisps etc) you can sell after the date at a vastly reduced price, but we usually reduce them a month in advance of the date. Selling things after the date isn't very professional, makes us look like a jumble sale or one of these ameteurish efforts of corner shops (or a Spar)
with chilled and bread "best before" and "use by" we reduce it 2 days before the date and reduce it again on the date to quarter price or ridiculous things like 5p
But diferent shops interpret the dates in different ways. Just thought i'd amaze you with insider knowledge
Stuff in tins, which when new has a life of several years - I'm happy to use them months, several months, maybe a year or more past the date.
Fresh veg? As you say, it's easy to tell if it's OK.
Meat & Fish? Usually pretty obvious when these are off, but as a rule of thumb I'd let lamb and beef go a few days past, pork, poultry & fish maybe 1 day.
Dates on cheese always amuse me. It's preserved milk, with emphasis on the preserved, particularly with some hard cheeses. Some of it is made, and then it sits in cellars and caves for years before you buy it, and then all of a sudden it only lasts a month or so? B*ll*cks.
