We’ve all been there: You have great intentions to cook every meal from scratch when you go grocery shopping…and then one day you look in your fridge and you have a few things that have since passed their expiration date. While you don’t want to get sick, the food looks perfectly fine to you…so is it OK to eat food past its expiration date? Well, it depends on a few factors.

Is it actually past its expiration date?

The first thing you want to determine is whether the date on your package is indeed the expiration date. Even if the food is past the date on the packaging, it could still be perfectly good, and fresh even, depending on what the label means.

Sell-by date, for example, refers to a date to indicate to retailers by when the product should be off shelves. If it’s only a few days past, it’s more than likely safe to eat.

Similarly, if it’s a best-by date, and it’s past that date, it might not be super fresh anymore, but it’s still safe to eat for a while, depending on what type of food it is.

How many days past the expiration date is it?

Say the date is an expiration date or its use-by date, and that time has passed. That might not mean it’s unsafe to eat. If it’s only been a day or so and it has no signs of spoilage, you can probably assume it’s good to go. Just eat it quickly.

When in doubt, there are plenty of online resources, like this one from the USDA, that can give you general guidelines for how long certain foods might be good after their expiration date when stored properly. Just use your best judgment and, again, don’t let it go too long or eat any food that seems past its prime.

What kind of food is it?

We touched on this slightly above, but what type of food we’re talking about here can make a big difference. A box of crackers that’s a bit past its sell-by date is generally safer to eat than raw meat past its date. Whether it’s in the freezer, fridge, or on the shelf can matter too; same goes for whether you’ve opened it or not. Again, online resources can help, as can food safety knowledge about how long these things can generally be stored.

Give it a look.

While in some cases food can be spoiled without any visible signs, most will let you know loud and clear when they’ve gone bad. The USDA recommends looking for signs of spoilage to see if a food is truly no longer safe to eat past its expiration date. If your milk is curdling or your meat looks slimy, that’s a pretty good indication that you should toss it. If it still looks and smells good to you, you’re probably safe, especially within a few days of its marked date.

Food waste is an issue, but don’t do anything that might make you sick.

Generally speaking, expiration dates seem to freak people out more than they need to. It’s not always a magical time when the clock strikes midnight and food becomes poisonous. Food waste is a huge problem in the U.S. and every day people throw out food that is perfectly safe to consume.

That being said, food safety is also hugely important and you shouldn’t risk getting sick from rancid greens because you’re worried about being wasteful. Make your best judgment call with the provided resources, and in the future, try your best to plan out your groceries according to what you’ll actually be able to use on time.

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