Selling food past the expiration date in some cases is not a violation of FDA's regulations or law. To explain, FDA's regulations pertain, among
other things, to food safety. The quality characteristics of foods (taste, aroma and appearance--as distinct from safety characteristics) often
depend in great part on good storage conditions: temperature and humidity control in the retail store and warehouse. When storage conditions
have been optimal, many foods are acceptable in terms of taste and other quality characteristics for periods of time beyond the expiration date
printed on the label, and also are safe to eat. Taste and other quality characteristics deteriorate more rapidly if the food is stored at elevated
temperatures and high humidity conditions (such as would occur if the air conditioning failed in a retail store, warehouse, or in the consumer's
home. Conversely, deterioration occurs very slowly if foods are stored under optimal conditions (correct storage temperatures and low humidity).
Because the expiration date is not indicative of product quality if storage conditions have been less than optimal, FDA does not require expiration
dates on most products. An exception to this answer is that expiration dates are required on
drugs. The dates required on
infant formula products are "use by" dates, not "expiration" dates.
A consumer using the infant formula product before this date is assured
that the product meets nutritional and quality standards.
Source: Industry Activities Staff, May 2000