The short, plain answer — from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
Usually, yes. The date on a can is about quality — not safety.
A can that looks fine and was stored in a cool, dry place can still be safe to eat after the printed date passes. The food may slowly lose flavor, color, or texture, but the date itself is not a safety deadline.
Cans carry dates like “Sell-By,” “Best if Used By,” and “Use-By.” Those dates are about quality — how good the food tastes and looks — not about safety.
With one exception (baby formula, covered below), date labels are not required by federal law, and they are not safety deadlines.
Here is how FSIS puts it:
“If the date passes during home storage, a product should still be safe and wholesome if handled properly until the time spoilage is evident.”
In plain words: a passed date does not make canned food unsafe. What matters is the can itself, and how it was stored.
FSIS says canned foods are safe indefinitely — with two conditions:
To give your cans the best chance, store canned food in a cool, dry place.
Do not use a can that is:
FSIS says to discard cans that are dented, rusted, or swollen, and to never use food from a swollen, bulging, or leaking can.
Never taste food to check it. If the can looks wrong, throw it out without tasting.
“Safe” and “tastes its best” are two different things. FSIS gives these best-quality storage times:
After those times, the food can still be safe. It just may lose flavor, color, or texture.
Infant formula is different from canned food. The FDA requires a “Use-By” date on infant formula, and formula should not be used after that date.
This is a safety and nutrition rule. Always follow it — no exceptions.
Home-canned food follows a different rule. The USDA recommends using home-canned foods within one year for best quality.
That one-year guide is for food you canned yourself — not for store-bought cans.
Answer a few taps about the can in your hand. The answers come from the FSIS facts on this page. Nothing you tap is saved or sent anywhere.
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Last question
What food is in the can?
Follow the date. Do not use it after.
Infant formula is the one exception to everything on this page. The FDA requires a “Use-By” date on infant formula, and it should not be used after that date. This is a safety and nutrition rule — always follow it.
Best within one year.
Home-canned food is different from store-bought cans. The USDA recommends using home-canned foods within one year for best quality.
Throw it out. Do not taste it.
FSIS says: never use food from a swollen, bulging, or leaking can. Discard the can — and never taste food to check it.
Throw it out.
FSIS says to discard cans that are dented or rusted. Don’t open it, and never taste food to check it.
This one falls outside the FSIS “safe” rule.
FSIS says canned foods are safe indefinitely only when they are not exposed to freezing temperatures or temperatures above 90 °F (32.2 °C) — and the cans look OK. This can was frozen or kept too hot, so that rule does not cover it.
You can use it — even past the date.
The can looks fine and was stored in a cool, dry place, so FSIS says it is safe to use even after the printed date. Tomatoes and fruit keep their best quality for 12 to 18 months. After that, the food can still be safe — it just may lose flavor, color, or texture.
You can use it — even past the date.
The can looks fine and was stored in a cool, dry place, so FSIS says it is safe to use even after the printed date. Meats and vegetables keep their best quality for 2 to 5 years. After that, the food can still be safe — it just may lose flavor, color, or texture.
You can use it — even past the date.
The can looks fine and was stored in a cool, dry place, so FSIS says it is safe to use even after the printed date. For best quality: tomatoes and fruit keep best for 12 to 18 months, and meats and vegetables for 2 to 5 years. Past those times the food can still be safe — it just may lose flavor, color, or texture.
Want storage times for other foods? FSIS runs the free FoodKeeper guide and app, which gives storage times for many foods.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) — the fact sheets “Food Product Dating” and “Shelf-Stable Food Safety,” at fsis.usda.gov. Everything on this page comes from those FSIS facts.