Food Standards

• Best Before: This term is appropriate for most foods.  It relates to the quality of food and is an indication of the period for which a food can reasonably be expected to retain its optimal condition.  Retailers can sell food after the best before date provided the food is safe to eat.
• Use by: This term is appropriate for perishable foods.  These foods present a microbiological risk to the consumer if sold after the indicated date.  It is an offence for shops to sell food that is after the use-by date.
• Sell by: Products may be labelled with 'sell by' and 'display until' dates, but these are not required by law and are used mainly for stock control premises. (There are different rules for eggs) 

It is very common to find various claims on menus within food establishments. Often claims are used as a selling point and can be a sign of quality.  

Claims can vary from ones which have protected status due to geographical location such as Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef others have protected status due to their traditional production methods such as the Roquefort cheese, which is made from sheep’s milk and aged in caves in a particular area of France.Other claims may be associated with certain types of products or brands i.e. 

• a breakfast that contains a certain brand of baked beans
• a cheesecake containing a certain brand of liqueur 
• that meat is sourced from a particular farm 

Business must take care so as to not mislead consumers when they describe the food on their menu.

Examples of misleading claims found by Local Authorities 

• Fire roasted' vegetables cooked in an ordinary oven. 
• 'Freshly made' meatballs which were bought in from a wholesaler.
• Homemade soup was dry pack soup mix with just hot water added