It’s ok to use product after it’s UBD, right?

Potentially hazardous foods are those that contain food poisoning bacteria and will allow the growth of those bacteria if they are not handled properly. Temperature abuse will accelerate the bacterial growth, so these foods will usually require cold storage.

Bacteria grow best at the same temperatures that we are most comfortable, so at room temperature it is recognized that bacteria will double approximately every 20 minutes.

Fridge/ coolroom temperatures will slow this down, so the bacteria will still be doubling but will do it much slower. Therefore potentially hazardous foods need to be stored at less than 5⁰C to achieve a reasonable shelf life.

These foods therefore, will generally have a Use by Date. This is because with the bacteria doubling, even at fridge temperatures, obviously after a certain period of time the amount of bacteria is going to be so high as to potentially make a healthy person sick.

This is why the Food Standards Code (www.foodstandards.gov.au) does not allow any business to sell or use any material past it’s use by date. Manufacturers need to accurately determine the use by date of each of their products under the required storage temperatures and then label them appropriately.

Customers of these manufacturers need to then use the principle of First In First Out as their Stock Rotation method to ensure that they do not use product past it’s use by date.

As long as a food has been stored and handled correctly, it will achieve the Use by Date on the label, and be safe for consumption, use or sale.

So, due to the food safety risks and legal requirements, it is not acceptable to sell, consume or use product past it’s Use by Date.