food-safety hazard_misjudgment ai_generated true

AI tells a consumer in the Netherlands that food past its 'ten minste houdbaar tot' (THT/best-before) date must be discarded, or that food past its 'te gebruiken tot' (TGT/use-by) date is fine to eat if it looks, smells, and tastes normal

ID: food-safety/best-before-not-use-by-date

Also available as: JSON · Markdown
85%Fix Rate
75%Confidence
3Evidence
2026-09-12First Seen

Version Compatibility

VersionStatusIntroducedDeprecatedNotes
any active — — —

Root Cause

Dutch food labeling uses two distinct dates. 'Ten minste houdbaar tot' (THT, best-before) is a quality marker - NVWA states a product 'in theorie... ook na deze datum nog verkocht of geconsumeerd' (could in theory still be sold or eaten after this date); use look, smell, and taste to judge it. 'Te gebruiken tot' (TGT, use-by) is a hard safety cutoff reserved for highly perishable items (fresh meat, smoked salmon, fresh vegetable juices): NVWA states that past this date the food is 'onveilig voor consumptie' (unsafe for consumption) and 'mogen ze niet meer worden verkocht' (may no longer be sold), regardless of appearance. The abbreviations 'THT'/'TGT' themselves are banned from packaging - labels must spell out the full phrase.

generic

Workarounds

  1. 85% success Check which exact phrase is printed: 'ten minste houdbaar tot' means use your senses after the date to judge freshness; 'te gebruiken tot' is a hard safety cutoff - discard once passed, regardless of appearance

    Sources: https://www.nvwa.nl/onderwerpen/voedselveiligheid/etikettering-van-levensmiddelen/houdbaarheidsdatum-levensmiddelen

  2. 75% success For borderline products like dairy or eggs, rely on the specific phrase printed on that item rather than a category-wide rule of thumb, since the date type is chosen per-product based on actual spoilage risk

    Sources: https://www.voedingscentrum.nl/encyclopedie/houdbaarheidsdatums-tht-tgt.aspx

Dead Ends

Common approaches that don't work:

  1. Tell someone to throw away pasta, canned goods, coffee, or other THT-labeled food the moment the printed date passes 60% fail

    NVWA's own labeling guidance states: 'In theorie zou een levensmiddel ook na deze datum nog verkocht of geconsumeerd kunnen worden' (in theory a food product could still be sold or consumed after this date). 'Ten minste houdbaar tot' is a quality marker, not a safety cutoff - only look, smell, and taste need checking.

  2. Assume food labeled 'te gebruiken tot' (TGT/use-by) is still fine to eat past the date as long as it looks, smells, and tastes normal 75% fail

    NVWA is explicit that after a 'te gebruiken tot' date, foods 'zijn... onveilig voor consumptie en mogen ze niet meer worden verkocht' (are unsafe for consumption and may no longer be sold). TGT is reserved for highly perishable products where the safety risk is not detectable by look, smell, or taste - unlike THT products.

  3. Look for the abbreviation 'THT' or 'TGT' printed directly on Dutch packaging to tell the two apart 40% fail

    NVWA states plainly: 'De afkortingen "TGT" of "THT" zijn niet toegestaan' (the abbreviations 'TGT' or 'THT' are not permitted) - labels must spell out the full phrase ('ten minste houdbaar tot' or 'te gebruiken tot'), so searching for the abbreviation itself finds nothing.