【Living in Japan】Best Before Date and Expiration Date

Food has two expiration times. They are 賞味期限（しょうみ きげん）- Best before date and 消費期限（しょうひ きげん）- Expiration date.

Do you know the difference?

 

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1）賞味期限（しょうみ きげん）- Best before date is?

"Best before date" is the period when food is delicious to eat. For example, snacks and canned food can be eaten even after the best before date. But, be careful as the taste and smell may change.

 

 

2）消費期限（しょうひ きげん）- Expiration date is?

"Expiration date" is the period when food is safe to eat. For example, meat, fish, milk, etc. may go bad after the expiration date. Therefore, do not eat food that has passed its expiration date and discard it.

3) Be careful when looking at the display

The expiration date is always shown on food sold in stores. However, numbers are written differently in Japan and other countries. In Japan, numbers are written in the order of year/month/day. For example, if it is "April 7, 2023", it is written as "23.4.7" or "2023/04/07".

 

 

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★YOLO QUIZ★

 

Q：What is the expiration date?

①Period when food is delicious to eat

②Period when food is safe to eat

③Period when food smells good

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　　The answer is ?★

 

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② Period when food is safe to eat

 

The expiration date is different depending on the food. When buying food, let's check the expiration date. And don't eat food that has passed its expiration date.

※① Is best before date.

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