I don't pay any attention to those dates myself. My mom, a hospital dietician, taught me to use common sense. If it smells bad, it probably is bad. If the milk smells sour, then throw it out. But to discard everything in your pantry or refrigerator because of a mandated expiration date, is expensive and foolish. I have a high school friend who throws out all of her leftovers after every meal, and if the food has been opened and in the refrigerator for longer than three days, it gets tossed. Guess what? Her monthly grocery bill is almost three times what ours is. That's because we eat leftovers until they are gone. We don't throw good food out. We take with a grain of salt, the mandated expiration dates.
People need to stop living their lives based on instructions and directions from manufacturers and the government. If they can't figure it out on their own, then maybe they need a good dose of wake-up-and-get-a-clue.