A product thrown away by mistake, a duplicate delivery, a disorganized fridge… These everyday situations have one thing in common : they’re costly.
However, in most cases, these losses aren’t inevitable. They result from poor management of expiration dates and insufficient inventory turnover. These are two simple measures you can take-provided you understand best practices and use the right tools.
In this article, we’ll explain in practical terms how to distinguish between “Expiration Dates,” “Best-Before Dates,” and why the FEFO method is essential, and how to organize your inventory to reduce food waste in a sustainable way.
1. Use-By Dates and Best-Before Dates : the dates you need to master
Before discussing inventory management, it’s essential to fully understand the dates listed on your products. Many professionals still confuse them, and this mistake can have consequences for quality, food safety, and regulatory compliance.
The Use-By Date
The Use-By Date (often labeled “use by”) applies to perishable products : meat, fish, fresh dairy products, and prepared meals. After this date, the product can no longer be sold or consumed. This is a strict safety limit governed by European regulations. No exceptions are permitted.
The Best-Before Date
The Best Before Date applies to non-perishable products: canned goods, pasta, flour, and spices. After this date, the product may lose some quality or flavor, but it is not necessarily unsafe. It can therefore still be used, provided its actual condition is assessed.
Why is this distinction crucial in the kitchen ?
Confusing the “Use-By Date” with the “Best Before Date” means running the risk of either throwing away items that are still edible (and thus creating waste) or serving potentially unsafe food to your customers. In both cases, the outcome is negative for both your profit margin and your reputation.
2. Inventory Rotation : An Essential Method for Avoiding Waste
Proper management of expiration dates isn’t enough if it isn’t combined with rigorous inventory rotation. This is where the FEFO method comes in.
The FEFO Method : First Expired, First Out
FEFO (“first to expire, first out”) is the gold standard for foodservice professionals. The principle is simple : products with the nearest expiration date must be used first, regardless of when they were delivered or received into the warehouse.
In practice, this means that with each restocking, new items are placed behind the older ones. This ensures your teams always use the products that need to be used first, without having to manually check each date during every service.
💡 The tangible benefits for your restaurant
Implementing FEFO in your kitchen yields several measurable results :
- Reduced food waste : fewer products thrown away because they were forgotten at the back of the stock ;
- Better quality on the plate : you’re always working with ingredients at their peak freshness ;
- Cost control : fewer losses = fewer unnecessary purchases = better profit margins ;
- HACCP compliance : a traceable inventory rotation is a key factor during sanitary inspections.
3. Inventory Management in the Food Service Industry : Mistakes to Avoid
Even with the best intentions, certain mistakes recur regularly in restaurant inventory management. Identifying them is the first step toward avoiding them.
Mistake #1 : Not conducting regular inventory counts
Without an up-to-date inventory, it’s impossible to know your actual stock levels. The result : duplicate orders, unexpected stockouts, or excessive quantities of perishable goods that expire before they’re consumed. A weekly inventory at a minimum is necessary to stay in control.
Mistake #2 : Ordering without analyzing sales
Purchases should be based on your actual consumption data, not on rough estimates. If a dish sells poorly during the week but well on weekends, your orders should reflect that pattern. Ordering too much leads to waste. Ordering too little leads to stockouts and dissatisfied customers.
Mistake #3 : Not training your team
Even the best organization only works if the entire team follows the same procedures. A new employee who isn’t familiar with the FEFO method or who can’t tell the difference between a “Use by” date and a “Best before” date can undo all your efforts. Training is a necessity, not an option.
4. How should you actually organize your storage space ?
Effective inventory rotation begins long before the kitchen : it starts with the physical organization of your storage areas. A poorly organized warehouse or refrigerator is a surefire way for certain products to be forgotten, mislabeled, or used out of order.
Implement a systematic labeling system
Every item that enters your inventory must be clearly labeled with the date received, expiration date, and, if possible, the quantity. Simple manual labeling may suffice at first, but it’s time-consuming and prone to errors. The ideal solution is to implement a standardized labeling system, followed by the entire team without exception.
Organize your areas by category and urgency
Clearly separate your perishable products (short shelf life) from your non-perishable products (long shelf life), and organize your shelves so that the most urgent items are always within easy reach, at the front. This visual organization significantly reduces the risk of forgetting a product at the back of a shelf. Apply this approach to both your refrigerators and your dry storage area: a designated spot for each item, and each item in its designated spot.
5. Food Waste in the Foodservice Industry : What the Numbers Say
Food waste isn’t just an ethical issue - it’s a major economic challenge for food service professionals. Recognizing the scale of the problem is the first step toward taking concrete action.
Considerable financial losses
In Europe, the foodservice sector accounts for a significant portion of total food waste. On average, a restaurant discards between 15 and 20% of its food purchases each year → amounting to several thousand euros in direct losses, depending on the size of the establishment. These losses include unused raw ingredients, unsold prepared dishes, and products that have reached their expiration date before being consumed.
A growing regulatory challenge
Beyond the financial impact, the fight against food waste is gradually becoming a regulatory issue. In France, the AGEC law (Anti-Waste for a Circular Economy) already imposes concrete obligations on institutional food service providers to reduce food losses. In Belgium, similar initiatives are emerging. For industry professionals, anticipating these developments means both ensuring compliance and achieving real savings on procurement costs.
Conclusion
Expiration dates, inventory rotation, storage space organization… These topics may seem technical, but they have a very direct impact on your establishment’s profitability. Every product thrown away erodes your profit margin. Every unexpected stockout complicates service.
The good news : the tools exist and are accessible to everyone. Distinguishing between “best before” and “use by” dates, applying the FEFO method, organizing your space, and training your teams are concrete practices you can implement today → regardless of the size of your kitchen.
And when these best practices are combined with the right digital tool, the results come even faster: enhanced traceability, guaranteed HACCP compliance, controlled costs, and less time wasted on manual tasks.
Would you like to digitize the management of your inventory and expiration dates ?
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