I'm sure they are fine. Just open the jars and check. "Best by" is a suggestion.

"Best by" doesn't mean "use by" or "toss on" for canned goods. Something that close to the date printed, especially processed in a sugar syrup, will be fine.

Exactly! Even if it's within the date, check the contents in case there was an oops, and perhaps question closer things that don't preserve easily. What the experts will tell you is that once food is properly canned, it's safe to eat, though for various reasons it's possible for it to become less delicious over time.

The best by date is supposed to help you capture the best version of the food and is very conservative and meant not to be right up to the point where it might have settled or separated or otherwise losts its mojo, so you'll use it up while it's still nice.

The use by date is also a CYA. That's the date that they guarantee it'll be top quality until, the date before which there are no questions asked if you're unhappy and want a refund.

TJ's is notorious on fresh items for pushing the date. The cheese will start to go moldy soon after it, and the cookies will go stale, to the point where these things happen even before the date, but TJ's is also the best about refunds/replacements. Canned cherries in sugar syrup do not fall in this category, as Olychick said.

plllog, I didn't know that about Trader Joe's and their dates. I have had their cheese begin to mold before the date, but not often enough to stop shopping their cheeses. I don't buy their premade salads or wraps or ready to eat lunch things, but then I don't buy those anywhere.

I'll open the cherries tomorrow if it looks like I'll have some time, and eat one ;0)

I agree they should be fine, so let the dough rolling begin.

Just wanted to say I also agree with plllog regarding TJ's refund/replace policy. They're just the best with customer service in general. I have a very long list going back many years of what they've done to accommodate customers.

I've been known to use the odd expired canned good in my pantry, haven't had any issues so far.

A tip about the cheese...I have a chamber vacuum sealer so can portion out and seal small quantities that last for several months. If I didn't have a sealer, I would cut the block of cheese into smaller portions and wrap them individually. The less time they are exposed to bacteria from your hands or the air, the less chance of mold developing.

Re: TJ's return policy for fresh items that have spoiled or are unsatisfactory, when the romaine lettuce recall happened, (the most recent one), I had just purchase romaine hearts from TJ's after not buying any romaine since the previous recall, maybe a year ago? I bought them literally the day before the recall was announced. I wasn't going back to TJ's and I'd already recycled the receipt, so I just took a phone pic of the bag with the date on it and the next time I was there, they easily refunded my money.

Olychick, that's a good example of what they do. The other day I bought one of those plastic containers of cherry tomatoes. The checker noticed one of the corners was open, so he had someone get me another one. He then put both containers of tomatoes in my bag and charged me for one.

One of my favorite TJ stories was with my stepfather. He was elderly and realized he'd left home without his wallet as they were bagging his groceries. He just had one bag but it was full. The checker told him not to worry and to take the groceries. My mom went the next day to pay for them, and they wouldn't let her. I started shopping there in the late 70's when their one and only store was here in Pasadena. Lots of years of great service!

Chloebud, I have fond memories of me and my sister going with our dad to the Pasadena store!

Sooz, that's great to hear! They've sure come a long way from that first store. My first apartment was close to that TJ's on Arroyo Pkwy in Pasadena. Did you live in or close to Pasadena?

My FIL lived in Pasadena and knew Joe! They were talking one day and FIL said "I eat your Joe's Ohs all the time!"

Joe said "What's that?"

Chloebud, the same thing happened to me with cherry tomatoes! Except mine had opened and I was leaving a trail of them everywhere in the store I went! I kept noticing cherry tomatoes on the floor and was going to report it when I got to the checkstand, but it was MY container spilling them, lol. I always make sure they are snapped closed now.

bbstyx, I'm with your niece, I want to know the "kill by" date. (grin)

Actually, many of those "use by" or "best by" dates have nothing to do with spoilage, but that is the date after which quality may begin to decline. And, after all, what's the use of eating something that doesn't taste very good?

I also vote that the cherries are just fine! Ready, set, roll. Be sure to let us know how they were too!

Annie

Chloebud, we lived close to Pasadena and it was always a nice treat when we had a chance to go there!

"...but it was MY container spilling them."

LOL, those containers aren't always secure, for sure! In my case, just one corner wasn't closed and none had spilled out. Went home with two full ones. :-)

nancyjane, pretty funny with the "What's that?" I bet Joe Coulombe was an interesting guy. I was too young to have a memory of the Pronto Markets that were here in SoCal years ago. Joe's idea of changing them all to TJ's was a good one, for sure!

Agreeing that 'Best By' does NOT mean the same thing as 'Expiration Date'. It only means that after that date, taste or other qualities may not be 100%, not that it's spoiled.

Here's a nice explainer from 99% Invisible:

https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/best-enjoyed-by/