🏷️ Labelling

Food labelling is the information on a package: name, ingredients, allergens, quantity, a “use by” or “best before” date, storage conditions, producer and nutrition values. In the EU it is required by Regulation 1169/2011. For milk, the date and storage temperature matter most, and the law reserves the name “milk” for natural milk secretion with nothing added or removed.

Article 9 of the regulation lists the mandatory particulars: name, list of ingredients, allergens, quantity, date, storage conditions, producer, country of origin (where required), instructions for use, alcoholic strength (for drinks above 1.2 % vol.) and a nutrition declaration. They have to appear on the package itself or on an attached label. The regulation has applied since 13.12.2014, and the nutrition declaration since 13.12.2016.

The dates work differently. “Use by” goes on highly perishable products: after that date the product is considered unsafe. “Best before” concerns quality: up to 3 months the date is given as day and month, for 3–18 months as month and year, beyond 18 months as year only. Raw milk is marked “raw milk”. A product cannot be sold without a batch mark: under Directive 2011/91/EU it helps when a product becomes the subject of a dispute or a hazard to health.

“Use by” or “best before”? The two dates are not interchangeable. “Use by” is about safety and goes on highly perishable products: after that date the product is considered unsafe. “Best before” is about quality, and the product may still be perfectly fine after it. The format differs too: up to 3 months the date shows day and month, for 3–18 months month and year, and beyond 18 months only the year. Milk is covered by the same rules as other foods.

On a pack, look for the name “milk”: the law reserves it for natural milk secretion with nothing added or removed, so a plant-based drink cannot carry it. Then read the date, the storage conditions, the producer and the nutrition values. The words “raw milk” mean milk for direct consumption that was not heated above 40 °C. You will find this information on packs in supermarkets, dairy shops and corner shops, always on the package or an attached label.

Why it matters to you. These two dates mean different things: “use by” is about safety, “best before” about quality. Also, ordinary drinking milk does not have to carry a list of ingredients, because it consists of a single ingredient.