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Notes -
There has been a bit of political pressure against rigid "expiration" dates on groceries because of concern that manufacturers are overly conservative on the dates leading to excess waste. On one hand, there is some wiggle room on many foods that become less desirable but still edible (brown spots on my bananas! Stale bread!) and manufacturers are assumed to gain from incentivising consumer waste (buying new loaves of bread to replace the stale one). Using "best by" (I often also see "sell by") is seen to better express best freshness without implying unusability.
I'm sure it's even more complicated for things that need refrigeration. I've had milk in the fridge curdle before the date on the package, but sometimes be fine a week after. Ultimately "is it still good" at the consumer level is best answered with a Mark I Human Nose (and eyes, and taste), although the date makes sense if you're managing sealed packages in bulk in the supply chain.
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