Overview

• Authorities reiterate the legal distinction: products past the best-before date (MHD) may be sold if safe, while items with a use-by date must not be sold or eaten after expiry.
• Aldi Süd reports that more than 98% of its stores donate food regularly to Tafeln and local groups, with Rewe and Penny also channeling suitable items to donations.
• Supermarkets increasingly mark down near-MHD goods and route surplus to resellers or food-rescue apps such as Too Good To Go.
• NIM findings indicate that over half of Germans, especially younger adults and households with children, discard food at least monthly because the MHD has passed.
• Consumer guidance emphasizes sensory checks and correct storage for many foods that remain fine after the MHD, while warning that use-by products like raw minced meat and fresh poultry are unsafe once expired.