Knowledge
Best-before, use-by and FEFO: how the shortest shelf life leaves the warehouse first
Why “first in, first out” is not enough in a food warehouse, how best-before and use-by dates differ, and how FEFO works day to day.
· 3 min read
Two dates, two meanings
The EU food information regulation knows two shelf-life indications. The best-before date says until when a product reliably keeps its properties if stored correctly. Goods past their best-before date may in principle still be sold if they are in perfect condition — although many restaurant buyers will no longer accept them.
The use-by date appears on microbiologically highly perishable foods such as fresh minced meat or poultry. After that date the product is considered unsafe and may no longer be placed on the market. For the warehouse this means: best-before is about money, use-by is about safety.
FIFO and FEFO — the small difference
- FIFO — first in, first out
- What was stored first is shipped first. That works as long as every delivery is younger than the previous one. In food wholesale that often does not hold: a later delivery can carry an earlier date, for instance with promotional goods or changing suppliers.
- FEFO — first expired, first out
- What expires first is shipped first, regardless of when it arrived. What counts is not the goods-in date but the date on the product. That date therefore has to be captured at put-away and respected at picking.
How FEFO works day to day
FEFO rarely fails on the principle — it fails where the date gets lost.
- Capture the date at goods-in — per batch, not per article. Two pallets of the same article with different dates are two different stocks.
- Assign locations so the older batch is physically at the front or clearly marked. Anyone who has to search grabs the nearest box.
- At picking, prescribe the date, not just the article. The picker should not have to decide which batch is the right one.
- Respect customer requirements: some buyers demand a minimum remaining shelf life. Those goods must not go on the route at all.
- Block and flag expired or soon-to-expire goods — daily, not at stocktake.
How you can tell it works
The most honest figure is write-offs: how much stock is thrown away or sold at a discount because it expired? Businesses that implement FEFO properly usually see that number fall within a few weeks, because goods are no longer forgotten at the back of the shelf.
The second figure is complaints about short remaining shelf life. They cost twice: the credit note and the customer's trust. Both can be compared monthly — before and after.
Try it with your own articles
In a trial we set up your articles and locations. You see on your own data which goods should leave first — and whether they do today.