"Best by" dates developed as nothing but a marketing gimmick. This is
not a joke. Their entire purpose is to put the idea in your head that
the food is "going bad", so you will buy more.

Generally speaking, the only date you need concern yourself about
is the "use by" date, and unless it's something very perishable like
fresh meat for example, regulations usually call for a very generous
safety margin even on those.

It should also be kept in mind that in the U.S. these days, pet
foods have to be manufactured to at least minimum human food safety
standards. That came about because it was discovered that a lot of
pet food ends up being eaten by people. Sad but true.

[Posted in FML 7373]