Can a grocery store sell food past its best-before date in Canada?

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) explains that a best-before date is not an indicator of food safety, neither before nor after the date. It says products may be found for sale after the date has passed, because the date is based on freshness and quality rather than safety. So a best-before date alone does not make a food illegal to sell. Two other federal rules still apply, and an owner or buyer of a grocery store should know both.

Foods that must never be sold after their date

The Food and Drug Regulations require an expiration date on infant formula, human milk fortifiers and certain foods for special dietary use, which the CFIA lists as formulated liquid diets, foods for very low-energy diets, meal replacements and nutritional supplements. The CFIA says these foods have strict compositional and nutritional specifications that might not be met after the date. For that reason, it says, it is prohibited to sell any of them once the declared expiration date has passed. An expiration date is a different thing from a best-before date, so check which one is on the label.

The safety rule that applies to all food

Section 4(1) of the Food and Drugs Act says no person shall sell an article of food that is unfit for human consumption, or that consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, disgusting, rotten, decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable substance. The list in the Act is longer than these two items. A food can be within its date and still fall under this rule, and a food past its best-before date cannot be sold if it falls under it.

Dates on food packaged in the store

Under section B.01.007 of the Food and Drug Regulations, a prepackaged product with a durable life of 90 days or less that is packaged on the retail premises from which it is to be sold must show its packaging date and its durable life, unless the durable life appears on a poster next to the food. The CFIA explains that such a product may instead be labelled with a best-before date and storage instructions. Subsection (3) exempts some products, such as prepackaged fresh fruits and vegetables and prepackaged donuts, so read the section for the products you actually make.

What this means when buying or selling a store

This page covers federal rules only. Provincial and municipal food-premises rules are not covered here, so check the rules where the store is located. A buyer can ask how a store handles dated stock and expiration-dated foods. For a broader picture, see buying a grocery store in Canada.