Can you freeze food on its use-by date?

What official guidance says

For UK food, a use-by date is a safety date. GOV.UK says you can eat food after that date only if it was cooked or frozen on or before it. Food Standards Scotland also says that some foods can be frozen up until the use-by date. The label storage instructions still matter because food can become unsafe before the date if it has not been stored correctly.^{[1] [2]}

UK: freeze on or before the use-by date

If today is the use-by date and the food has been kept as the label requires, you can freeze it today. If it is after the date, do not freeze it for later. Freezing does not make food safe after poor storage or after a UK safety date has passed.

Keep the freezer at -18°C or below, label the item with what it is and when it was frozen, then follow the pack instructions for freezing and defrosting. GOV.UK says food should be used within 24 hours once it has defrosted.^[1]

A quick UK decision guide

Why freezing does not rescue unsafe food

Freezing stops germs from growing while food is frozen. It does not reverse unsafe handling before freezing. USDA explains that microbes can become active again once the food is thawed, so defrosted food should be handled like other perishable food.^[5]

That is why a product that was left too warm or has an uncertain storage history needs a more cautious decision. Do not use a normal smell or appearance to overrule a UK use-by date. Food Standards Scotland says harmful bugs may be present even when food looks and smells normal.^[2]

Defrosting and refreezing

For UK food, plan to defrost in the refrigerator and use the food within 24 hours. Follow any stricter label instruction. If you are deciding whether thawed food can be frozen again, read RecallBite’s separate guide to refreezing thawed food. A power cut has different safety boundaries because the temperature history may be uncertain. Use the post-outage guide instead of relying on the original date label alone.

Why the US answer is different

In the US, federal date-label terms are not nationally uniform in the same way. USDA says a US use-by date normally indicates the last date recommended for peak quality, not a safety date. A freeze-by date similarly indicates when freezing is recommended for peak quality.^[3]

Perishable food still needs safe handling. USDA says food stored constantly at 0°F / -18°C is safe indefinitely, although quality declines during long freezer storage. Freeze food you will not use soon while it is still properly refrigerated and in good condition.^[5]

The US infant-formula exception

Do not apply the general US quality-date explanation to infant formula. FDA requires a use-by date on each container because the formula should meet its declared nutrient amounts and acceptable quality until that date. Do not buy or use infant formula after the use-by date.^{[3] [4]}

Practical conclusion

In the UK: freeze food on or before the use-by date if it has been stored correctly. Label it, keep the freezer cold and use it within 24 hours once defrosted. In the US: do not assume a use-by date is a federal safety deadline. Check the storage instructions, keep perishable food cold and freeze it while it remains in good condition. Treat infant formula separately.^{[1] [3] [4]}

If you are checking a recalled product, a date label may help identify the package but it does not prove that it is affected. Compare the product name, batch or lot details and dates with the official notice. You can search current recalls on RecallBite.