What are the common misunderstandings about use-by dates (消費期限)?

This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.

Japanese food labels carry two different dates: the use-by date (消費期限, shōhi kigen) and the best-before date (賞味期限, shōmi kigen). Mix them up and your decision goes in the wrong direction. And the widely repeated explanation that "five days is the cut-off between them" has already been rejected.

How the system defines the two dates

The Consumer Affairs Agency (消費者庁, Japan's consumer-protection agency) sets out the terms as follows:

An explanation once spread that "roughly five days or less means a use-by date; anything longer means a best-before date". In 2008 the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries clarified that a mechanical five-day split is not an appropriate way to set a date from the definitions. The Consumer Affairs Agency's current guidelines (March 2025) also require dates to be set from the definitions.

[Verify] Check against the Consumer Affairs Agency's "Guidelines for Setting Food Date Labels" and its material on the history of the date-labelling system.

Misunderstanding 1｜Both dates have some leeway

The one with leeway is the best-before date. The use-by date is about safety. Do not eat food that is past it.

Misunderstanding 2｜If it looks fine, it is fine

Food can be unsafe even when its look and smell have not changed. Put date management first.

Misunderstanding 3｜Heating makes it safe

Heating does not necessarily solve the problem. Do not decide to heat and eat food that is past its use-by date.

Misunderstanding 4｜The date stretches if the pack is unopened

The date applies only to an unopened pack stored in the way shown on the label. It is not something that gets extended.

Misunderstanding 5｜Freezing extends the date

Freezing at home does not extend the date printed on the label. Follow the label.

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Sources

• Consumer Affairs Agency, "Guidelines for Setting Food Date Labels" [食品期限表示の設定のためのガイドライン] (March 2025)

https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/food_labeling/food_labeling_act/assets/food_labeling_cms201_250328_1029.pdf

• Consumer Affairs Agency, "Information on food date labelling" [食品の期限表示に関する情報]

https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/food_labeling/food_sanitation/expiration_date/

• Consumer Affairs Agency, Food Labelling Division, "History of the food date-labelling system" [食品の期限表示制度の変遷等] (May 2024)

https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/food_labeling/meeting_materials/assets/food_labeling_cms201_240527_05.pdf

⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.

About this article

What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.

This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.

Please decide for yourself, using your own judgement, whether any of this suits your situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from following this article.

Some ingredients need thorough cooking. Eat raw only foods that are sold for raw consumption. If you have allergies, check the ingredients.

For any actual food, always follow the label on the product and the storage method it states. Do not eat food that is past its use-by date.

Sources

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