Mindesthaltbarkeitsdatum (MHD)

What is the best-before date?

The best-before date marks the point until which a product, when stored as directed, is guaranteed to retain its declared quality characteristics. It is explicitly not a safety date: once the BBD has passed, a product is not automatically unfit for consumption or dangerous, and may under certain circumstances still be marketable. This distinction is legally relevant and clearly differentiates the BBD from the use-by date, which applies to microbiologically perishable products and after which a product may no longer be placed on the market.

Within the EU's food law framework, indicating the BBD is mandatory for most packaged foods. Comparable labeling requirements exist in other industries such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and chemicals, though these are governed by their own regulatory frameworks.

BBD management in warehouse practice

For logistics and warehouse planning, the BBD is not merely a labeling compliance topic but an active control parameter in day-to-day operations. Typically, the BBD is recorded at batch or lot level and stored in the warehouse management system (WMS). This gives rise to the following core processes:

• Goods receipt recording: The BBD is captured upon delivery and checked against agreed minimum remaining shelf lives. If a batch falls below the required remaining shelf life, it can be automatically blocked or flagged for clarification.
• FEFO storage strategy: First Expired, First Out ensures that goods with an earlier expiry date are picked first. This reduces write-offs and spoilage, but requires clean, batch-pure stock management.
• Blocking and release processes: When a batch approaches a defined blocking date, the system automatically triggers a block flag. The affected goods are removed from available stock and must be actively released or written off.
• Order picking: During order processing, the WMS must take into account the recipient's BBD requirements. Trading partners frequently specify minimum remaining shelf lives as acceptance criteria.

Key considerations for setup and system selection

Several aspects must be considered when establishing a BBD-compliant warehouse process. First, system support must be adequate: a WMS should support FEFO as a configurable storage strategy, be able to manage batch-pure storage locations, and generate automatic alerts for impending expiry dates. Not every system offers the same level of granularity, which is why requirements should be clearly defined before system selection.

Second, master data quality is critical: incorrect or missing BBD information at goods receipt creates gaps in traceability and can complicate recall actions. Clear processes for data capture and escalation paths for discrepancies are therefore essential.

Third, contractual arrangements with suppliers and customers must be taken into account. Minimum remaining shelf lives vary considerably by industry, product category, and trading partner, and should be explicitly anchored in supply agreements. How deviations are handled — whether by return, price adjustment, or disposal — is a point that should be agreed upon in advance and is managed differently depending on the vendor.