What does the best-before date mean?

The best-before date can be confusing. Many people confuse the best-before date with the expiry date. Best-before day is a label that the producer puts on, guaranteeing that the product maintains the same quality as the day it was manufactured. The fact that the best-before date has passed does not mean that the product becomes unusable thereafter. Knäckebröd can last for weeks, months and even years after the best-before date has passed. Speaking specifically about knäckebröd, there is nothing in such a product that can become unusable even if you store it for a very long time.

Due to the low liquid content in a baked crispbread, the result is a bread with a perfect shelf life. In the book History of the Nordic Peoples, which was published in 1555, Olaus Magnus wrote:

That bread baked at the birth of a child could last until the child's engagement day. 

The properties of knäckebröd as a sustainable bread were crucial in the old farming society, and they remain important today, given the ongoing debate about food waste. Since knäckebröd is never thrown away, it results in marginal food waste.

Today's regulations state that it is perfectly permissible to sell a product even after the best-before date has passed. On the other hand, it is not permitted to sell products that are marked with a use-by date as they may pose a health risk. Knäckebröd does not belong to that category of products.

This is how we handle the best-before date on the knäckebröd we sell.

The products that we take into our warehouse must have a Best Before date that is at least 6 months ahead of when the knäckebröd arrives at our warehouse. When the product is then ordered in the online store, it means that the product's best-before date is approaching, day by day. One month before the product's best-before date, it receives a SHORT DATE - SALE! and the price is reduced. When the best-before date has passed, the product is marked with PASSED DATE - SALE! and the price is further reduced.

Products with SHORT DATE or PASSED DATE are marked as follows:

Here you will find the products that are now sold at a reduced price due to a SHORT DATE or a PASSED DATE. Click here!