TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. You pull an item out of the refrigerator, freezer or pantry and see it’s past the date on the package. “Should I eat this or not?” “Those dates are there for a reason,” said Martin Bucknavage, senior food safety extension associate for Penn State University in the college of agriculture at University Park. “They are set by the manufacturer for the best time to consume the product. It will be the best quality by that date.” The manufacturer is giving the safest date, he said.