A label carries one of two different dates, and each calls for a different shelf decision. Under Article 27 of Turkey's regulation on food labelling and consumer information, foods that are microbiologically highly perishable and likely to become a health risk after a short time carry a use-by date; other foods carry a best-before date.
Use by is a safety limit: past it, the food counts as unsafe under Law No. 5996. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry states that selling such food is strictly prohibited and penalised, and gives meat, milk and fish as examples. Best before is a quality date; for pulses, pasta or canned goods stored as labelled in intact packaging, passing it means flavour or crispness may have declined. The Ministry regards destroying such risk-free products, instead of selling them with the consumer informed, as waste.
When should the markdown start
For use-by products the calendar is hard and planning happens through order quantities. For best-before products, what enlarges the loss is leaving the markdown decision to the last day. The decision compares the stock on hand with what can sell at the normal rate in the days left:
- Average sales are 8 units a day with 3 days to the date (example).
- The quantity that can sell at full price is 8 × 3 = 24 units.
- With 40 on the shelf, the markdown for the remaining 16 is decided today.
The printed date assumes the product was kept in the declared conditions. A best-before consignment that was accepted but arrived warm is sold first even with the same date, which is why the approaching-date list is pulled by SKU and lot number.
