What to do
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Key facts
Before you go
Avoid
- Calling every visible date an expiry date without reading its description.
- Reading a numeric Thai date as US month-day-year without checking the label's sequence.
- Ignoring the product's stated storage and after-opening conditions.
- Using a date to declare a damaged or mishandled item safe.
Identify which date the package names
Do not read every printed date as an expiry date. A package may display a production date, a best-before date or an expiry date, and Thai FDA treats expiry and best-before wording as different labels rather than interchangeable terms. Thai wording is required; corresponding English wording such as BBD or EXP may appear alongside it when the meaning agrees. Keep all wording attached to the date when you photograph or copy it.
Look across the whole label before deciding what a number means. A date near a seal, price sticker or batch code can be easy to separate from its explanation. If the wording is unclear, use the current Thai FDA labeling guide rather than assigning a meaning from position alone.
Read Thai dates in the displayed order
Thai FDA's guidance uses day-month-year for food with shelf life up to 90 days. For food with shelf life over 90 days, the label may use day-month-year or month-year. The FAQ accepts a pattern such as MFG.DD.MM.YYYY/BBD.DD.MM.YYYY, but that example does not mean every package uses English abbreviations.
Preserve the digits, separators and adjacent wording exactly as printed. If a producer uses an order other than the stated day-month-year or month-year sequence, the label needs text or characters that make the method clear. Do not silently swap day and month from home-country habit; ask the manufacturer, retailer or Thai FDA if the actual label remains ambiguous.
Apply the stated storage conditions
The printed date cannot be interpreted apart from the storage conditions stated for the product. Follow any temperature, refrigeration, freezing, light, humidity or after-opening instruction actually printed on that package. Do not substitute a general travel rule for the manufacturer's product-specific condition.
A date does not reconstruct the item's history. If chilled food was left in heat, a seal is broken, the package is swollen or leaking, or storage is otherwise uncertain, the label alone cannot supply a freshness or safety verdict. Keep the condition question separate from the calendar reading.
Keep related label checks separate
The date panel does not answer whether an allergen is present. Read the ingredient and allergen information through the separate packaged-food workflow. It also does not establish that a Thai FDA authorization number matches the product; that requires an exact official product-record check.
Restaurant sanitation badges and packaged-food dates describe different scopes. A SAN or SAN Plus marker does not interpret an item's date, while a legible package date does not assess a restaurant or its handling practices. Use each signal only for the question it actually supports.
Escalate ambiguity without guessing
When the wording, date order or print is unclear, record the full package name, manufacturer, label panel and date line. Keep enough context to show which wording belongs to which number. A tight crop of digits may remove the information needed to interpret them correctly.
Ask for current product-specific clarification rather than relying on an online comment about another package. This guide explains Thai FDA's label mechanics; it does not decide whether a selected item is fresh, safe after mishandling or suitable for a particular person.
Dates, responsibility & checking method
Evidence
Sources
4 dated records support the material facts on this page.
- การใช้วันหมดอายุ หรือควรบริโภคก่อน ต่างกันอย่างไร (opens in a new tab)
Thai Food and Drug Administration, Food Divisionofficial governmentPublished Checked
- การแสดงวันผลิต / ควรบริโภคก่อน / วันหมดอายุ (opens in a new tab)
Thai Food and Drug Administration, Food Divisionofficial governmentPublished Checked
- การแสดงคำว่า 'หมดอายุ' หรือ 'ควรบริโภคก่อน' เป็นภาษาอังกฤษ (opens in a new tab)
Thai Food and Drug Administration, Food Divisionofficial governmentPublished Checked
- Food-labeling guides and examples (opens in a new tab)
Thai Food and Drug Administration, Food Divisionofficial governmentPublished Checked