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Sell-by dates will be removed from food products in a bid to cut £12bn worth of waste and save shoppers money, ministers have said.
The new regulations from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will see the terms "sell by" and "display until" phased out.
Instead packaging will only carry one of two phrases - "use by" or "best before", in an effort to reduce the mount of good food currently being wasted.
Foods that are likely to require a "use by" date, meaning they could become dangerous to eat, include soft cheese, smoked fish and ready meals.
Biscuits, jams, pickles, crisps and tinned foods will only need a "best before" label, meaning they may lose quality but are still safe to consume.
Guidance issued today has been produced in consultation with supermarkets, food manufacturers, consumer groups, food law enforcement bodies and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap).
According to Wrap, British households throw away 5.3m tons of food and drink every year, costing the average family £680 a year, 60 per cent of that could be avoided.
Environment secretary Caroline Spelman said: "We want to end the food labelling confusion and make it clear once and for all when food is good and safe to eat.
"This simpler and safer date labelling guide will help households cut down on the £12bn worth of good food that ends up in the bin."
The Food and Drink Federation's (FDF) director of food safety and science Barbara Gallani said: "Defra's guidance on the application of date marks on food and drink products will provide an additional tool for manufacturers to use to help consumers in their fight against food waste.
"FDF fully supports the continued use of 'use by' and 'best before' date marking as these provide very valuable information for consumers on product safety and quality and we encourage our members to apply best practice when deciding on the most appropriate labelling for a specific product.
"However, as research from Wrap suggests, shoppers are still confused by the difference between 'use by' and 'best before', meaning that there is a significant challenge around consumer understanding."
However, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said the government should work to implement a better approach in educating consumers on what the dates mean.
BRC food director Andrew Opie said: "Helping consumers understand that food past its best-before date can still be eaten or cooked could contribute to reducing food waste and saving people money.
"The government should be spreading that message, not focusing on retail practices."
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