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The manner in which consumers understand and interpret date labels influences their attitudes toward food quality at the purchase and consumption stage. The purpose of this study is to (1) evaluate the influence of “best before” dates on expected food liking and (2) assess how sensory perception and expectations toward “best before” dates influence actual food liking.

A consumer sensory study was conducted among 110 participants in Poland. The participants' attitudes were examined toward food products (rice, sponge cookies, canned fruit salad and leaf tea) labelled with different “best before” dates and toward those same but unlabelled food products. The consumers' expected liking based solely on “best before” dates were also evaluated.

The analysis showed that date labels may have an opposite contribution to consumer apprehension of foods. It is proved that “best before” dates maintain a consumer’s positive attitude toward fresh products and reduce consumer uncertainty regarding food edibility, which would be experienced in the absence of date labels. Conversely, results of this study confirmed date labels' role in consumers denigrating expired food and showed consumers' unreasonable convictions that the food's sensory attributes were altered. Thus, otherwise safe and edible food was wasted – it was shelf-life information, not sensory quality, that determined the tested food's perceived value.

The originality of this study is that it involves product assessment to explore the interaction between consumers and a food product's sensory attributes in the context of making decisions that are influenced by the “best-before” date.

The purpose of this paper is to assess how shelf-life labelling affects the sensory acceptability of potato snacks.

The panel of assessors determined the key sensory attributes. Subsequently, affective sensory consumer testing was conducted. The samples of potato snacks with labels suggesting valid and false shelf life or without dating information were presented to 110 students. They rated the degree of colour intensity, oxidised flavour and crispness liking with the use of hedonic scale and accepted or rejected the sample. The testing was carried out in a sensory laboratory.

Shelf-life labelling affects the overall acceptability of potato snacks, perception of crispness and oxidative flavour. These attributes were rated less favourably when the label suggested post-expiration. The influence of shelf-life labelling decreased with storage time period. Consumers are more willing to trust their own perception than labelling.

The product may be rejected not only because of quality depletion when the shelf life is overestimated, but also as a result of denigration when the shelf life is underestimated.

Date legislation is necessary but it may be not sufficient without consumer education on food labelling and safety.

Research on the influence of shelf-life labelling on the sensory acceptability of food is scarce. Understanding how consumers are affected by shelf-life information has important implications for both public policy as well as food manufacturers.