Food is labelled with a variety of information, some of which is required by law. This tells you about ingredients, weight and where the food comes from. The label also gives any details needed for food safety such as when food should be used by, how to store it and instructions for use.

Most foods are labelled with a date mark to show how long they will keep. Fresh fruit, vegetables and raw meat (which are not pre-packed) may not have a date label because they should be used up quickly and it may be obvious when they start to go off. Three types of date mark are used on food labels and are described below.

'Use by' dates are required by law and are on foods which go off quickly such as cold cooked meats and poultry, sandwiches, yoghurts, cream, milk, etc. These foods are called 'perishable' and should always be eaten by the 'use by' date because after that time they may be unsafe. They must be stored in the conditions which the manufacturer recommends (e.g. in a fridge) or they may start to become unsafe or deteriorate (go off) before the given date.

'Best before' dates are also required by law and are used for foods which can safely be kept for longer periods of time. After the date, the food may still be safe to eat but it may no longer be at its best.

Some foods may be marked with a 'display until' date. This is not a legal requirement but is an instruction for the shop to ensure the food is sold well before it is out of date.

The law states that pre-packed foods must be labelled with certain information. This includes:

• the name of the food;
• a list of ingredients;
• a 'use-by' or 'best before' date to show its shelf-life (i.e. how long it can be stored for);
• any special storage conditions or conditions of use;
• name and address of the manufacturer/packer.

The date mark must be easily seen.

Shops, restaurants and any other business which sells food must make sure that items marked with a 'use by' date are sold by that date. They are breaking the law if they have food for sale after the 'use by' date has expired. Although it is not against the law to sell foods after the 'best before' date, most people try to sell it within the given time period to ensure the food is in satisfactory condition.