Food Expiration dates

For the most part “expiration dates” do not mean what we think they mean. In general, the manufacturers have gotten a little more honest about these dates. However, read them carefully, they say things like: “Sell by” which means they manufacturer wants the store to rotate the stock; “best when used by” or some variant which means it is still good but maybe not at its peak some are “pack” dates when it was manufactured which says nothing about whether it is any good or not. Food bank are stocked by these kinds of food which are rejected by the consumer because of the date but is still quite edible. An actual “Expiration date” is the one to take seriously. These are usually mandated by state law and some states cut the danger date closer than other states.
Here is a web site that gives suggestions about the shelf life of many foods:
http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/surprising-expiration-dates-10000000676079/page2.html