A recent study came out and stated that roughly 400 kilograms of food is wasted or thrown out by every Canadian each year. 

One reason that could explain why there is such a high statistic could be the fact that some people are getting a 'best before date' and 'expiry' date confused.

Rick Cartman is the Grocery Manager at the local Moose Jaw Co-Op, and he detailed that the taste of the product might not be the same after the specified date; however, it won't necessarily make you sick.

"The product will deteriorate as that time goes on, so they're saying the best performance is in that timeline," detailed Cartman. "So let's say that the expiry is on June 13th for cereal, it should be good until then, it doesn't mean it's going to spoil the day after, but it'll start deteriorating where the flavour is getting weaker and weaker on whatever it is."

"Once you refreeze something it deteriorates, the quality won't be as good as once you've had it fresh for that date. There's some grey areas there and obviously the best before date is a recommendation, once you've done something else to the product is deteriorated more so."

Cartman noted that the same rules don't apply to all foods, the way you keep chicken and how important it is to check the best before date isn't the same as the way you would treat a bag of chips. 

"If it's a canned good you could probably go another three months, but if it's a refrigerated product then it depends how the temperature was around that product. A box of cereal, for example, could be three months later."

Some countries are taking steps to hopefully stop label misconceptions and reduce waste by using phrases such as "use by," or "tastes best by" instead of saying "expiry date".