Best before: date

[Encolpius]

Good morning ladies & gentlemen, I have been wondering how you say "best before 2.12.2021" in different languages. And would you please write the literal translation, you know, it is no "best before" in most languages. Thanks for you cooperation & have a productive day. Encolpius from Prague.

Hungarian: Minőségét megőrzi: DATE (lit: something like: quality kept before
Czech: Minimální trvanlivost do: DATE (lit.: ???)
Spotřebujte do: DATE (lit.: Do consume it before
German: Mindestens haltbar: DATE

 

[TheCrociato91]

In Italian, there are two main formulas that I know of:

- Da consumarsi preferibilmente entro ("To be consumed preferably by") + date​

- Da consumarsi entro ("To be consumed by") + date​

The main difference lies in the adverb "preferibilmente". The first formula indicates that the product retains its qualities until the date specified, while the second one states that the product is safe to eat until the date specified.

 

[Encolpius]

Yes, I would like to exam how different languages say that because some people tend to throw away the food according to a rather wrong chosen phrase on the package. But that would be a discussion in Culture Café.

 

[Welsh_Sion]

Cymraeg/Welsh

ar ei orau cyn - (Lit. on his best before) = Best before

(Unlikely to see this on commercial foods, though.)

English often references months as BBE - Best Before End.

There is a difference between "Use by" and "Best Before End", too as you mention @Encolpius, but this you will establish as you say in the Culture Café.

 

[Circunflejo]

In Spanish is similar to Italian:

• Consumir preferentemente antes de (to be consumed preferably before) + date
• Consumir antes de (to be consumed before) + date

 

[Encolpius]

Dear Sion, is Welsh used on packages? So is that a real phrase?

 

[Circunflejo]

Dear Sion, is Welsh used on packages? So is that a real phrase?

He already gave a clue:

(Unlikely to see this on commercial foods, though.)

In other words, it's a real phrase but you don't see it that frequenty. You can find online examples of use.

 

[Awwal12]

Russian is definitely more cathegorical:
годен до (góden do): DATE ~ "suitable (for use) until/up to: DATE".

 

[Frank78]

Good morning ladies & gentlemen, I have been wondering how you say "best before 2.12.2021" in different languages. And would you please write the literal translation, you know, it is no "best before" in most languages. Thanks for you cooperation & have a productive day. Encolpius from Prague.

German: Mindestens haltbar: DATE

There are actually two kinds of them in Germany.

1,) the one you mentioned, i.e. "Mindesthaltbarkeitsdatum" (best before date; lit: minimum keepability date) which is used for the majority of products and means the producer guarantees that the properties and taste of the product will be excellent up to that date. It does not mean you can't eat it anymore after that date

and

2.) Verfallsdatum (use-bye date; lit: decay date), that is often used for products which go bad because of microbaterial activity, i.e. ground/minced meat. Those shouldn't be eaten after that date

 

[Armas]

There are actually two kinds of them in Germany.

Likewise in Finland/Finnish:
1) Parasta ennen "best before"
2) Viimeinen käyttöpäivä "the last day of use" or Käytettävä viimeistään "to be used at the latest" shortened käyt. viim.

 

[apmoy70]

Greek:

«Ανάλωση κατά προτίμηση πριν από: DATE» [aˈna.lɔ.si kaˈta prɔˈti.mi.si ˈprin aˈpɔ] --> consume by preference before [DATE]

 

[Penyafort]

Catalan:

· Consumiu-ho preferentment abans de ... = Consume it preferentially before ...​

· Consumiu-ho abans de la fi de ... = Consume it before the end of ...​

​

Or it just says:​

​

· Data de caducitat: ... = Expiry date: ...​

 

[Encolpius]

2.) Verfallsdatum (use-bye date; lit: decay date), that is often used for products which go bad because of microbaterial activity, i.e. ground/minced meat. Those shouldn't be eaten after that date

Yes, but I am interested what is written on the product, so is it: Verfallsdatum: DATE. (??)

 

[Sobakus]

In addition to го́ден до ("good before"), Russian foods also have употреби́ть до ("consume before"), срок хране́ния ("term of preservation") and срок го́дности ("term of being good") written on them. I doubt whether there's any difference between them - certainly it's not evident to an average consumer.