My understanding is there is a 'recommended sell by' date beyond which the food is considered 'not so fresh' and an 'expiration date' beyond which the food is potentially spoiled and should not be eaten. After the first date the food is 'outdated' and after the second date it's 'expired'. Is my understanding correct?
Learn English – Outdated food vs. expired food
foodphrase-usage
Best Answer
The word outdated isn't typically used in the context of food freshness.
The adjective outdated suggests something is no longer widely in use or is unfashionable. Wearing poodle skirts is generally considered outdated. Super Nintendo and Windows 95 are outdated. You wouldn't typically say your food is outdated (unless its presentation or ingredient usage has gone out of style).
"Expiration date" is a term used to indicate when either the shop has to stop selling the item ('sell by' date) or the date by which it must be consumed ('use by' date). If the freshness and overall quality of the product is more of a concern than health issues (for example, crackers go stale but are largely safe to consume after their expiration date), one might use the term 'best before' or 'best used by' date.
But, generally speaking, if food is said to have "expired", that generally means it should not be consumed. It is only historically that items (like milk) were labeled somewhat ambiguously with terms like "expiration date" — which, in the case of milk, was the date it needed to be sold by — but laws varied by product. Product labeling of expiration dates is typically a bit more specific now.