It turns out…you don’t ALWAYS have to respect those expiration dates!

While we’ve all sniffed our food at times to check whether it’s gone bad, it’s sometimes difficult to know which products can be safely consumed after their expiration date.

Whether it’s chocolate that’s developed a whitish film or bread that has a bit of mold on one side, it can be confusing to tell whether something is OK to eat or drink or whether it needs to be thrown out.

Expiration dates aren’t always accurate when it comes to a particular food’s shelf life. And those labels have been linked in the past to a massive amount of food waste that happens in our country every year.

Of course, you don’t want to eat something that’s hazardous or could make you sick. But you can both save money and reduce the waste if you stop going by the date you see stamped on some of your food products.

Despite what people might think, there are foods you can eat past the label’s expiration dates. Let’s take a look at 12 of them today!