Confusing the expiration date with the best before date is very common, but there is a big difference between the two. Do you know what it is? The key lies in how consuming the product may affect your health.

Confusing the expiration date with the best before date is very common, but there is a big difference between the two. Do you know what it is? The key lies in how consuming the product may affect your health. In general, when we see a past date on a food package, many people think: “Oh, it’s expired… I can’t eat it anymore.” But it’s important to know whether that date refers to the product’s expiration or its best before date.

• Expiration date: Once the expiration date has passed, the food should not be eaten, as it may pose a health risk. Generally, fresh and more perishable products (for example, meat, fish...) expire and it is not safe to consume them beyond the indicated date.

• Best before date: This date refers to the period during which the product maintains its properties (unopened and under proper storage conditions). After this date, the quality of the food may decline, but it does not pose a health risk. It is used for foods with low water content (oil, legumes, dry pasta…), dehydrated, sterilized products, eggs…

That said, both dates refer to the unopened and properly stored food. Once opened, conditions may change (many packages indicate how to store the food after opening).

Do canned foods expire?

Canned foods have a best-before date, not an expiration date. For example, on our canned fish products, you will see the phrase “Best before.” The sterilization heat treatment, characteristic of canned goods, allows the production of products with complete hygienic safety while maintaining a high nutritional value. Thanks to this process, we can consume highly perishable foods like fish throughout the year and in any geographic location.

For instance, the best-before date on our canned North Atlantic bonito usually lasts about 5 years from the manufacturing date. We recommend consuming them within this period to enjoy their full quality and nutritional properties, but if this date is passed, it would not pose a health risk (as long as extreme cases are avoided, of course).

Canned foods vs Semi-preserved foods

As you know, our Cantabrian anchovies are a semi-preserved product that must be kept refrigerated. What is the difference in terms of preservation?

For a product to be considered a canned food, it must have an airtight seal and undergo a sterilization process, where the product is heated to a high temperature for a set time. However, the anchovy, our beloved Engraulis encrasicolus, cannot withstand that temperature — it would be destroyed — so it does not go through the sterilization process. This is why it is not a canned food, but a semi-preserved product. Its preferred consumption period is much shorter (about 8 months, provided it is kept refrigerated).

Semi-preserved anchovies mature inside the tin, and this maturation slows down when stored cold (between 4-8ºC). When freshly prepared, anchovy fillets have a very firm texture and a milder flavor. Conversely, as months pass, the anchovy matures, and the fillets become softer with a more intense and saltier taste. So, depending on your preference, choose anchovies with a closer or farther date.

In the case of boquerón, it’s the same fish but it hasn’t gone through the salting process, which makes the maturation faster. While salted anchovies have a preferred consumption period of about 8 months, boquerón lasts around 3 months.