Maten kan vara ätbar efter bäst före-datumet.

Maten is the definite form of mat, so it means the food.

In Swedish, the definite article is often added as an ending:

• mat = food
• maten = the food

In this sentence, Swedish uses the food in a general sense, where English might also say just food:

• Maten kan vara ätbar ... = Food / The food can be edible ...

This kind of generic definite form is very common in Swedish.

Kan means can / may, and vara means be.

Together, kan vara means:

• can be
• may be
• might be, depending on context

So:

• Maten kan vara ätbar = The food may still be edible

A useful grammar point: after a modal verb like kan, the next verb stays in the infinitive:

• kan vara
• kan äta
• kan komma

You do not add att here.

Because ätbar agrees with maten.

Swedish adjectives often change form depending on gender/number:

• en-word singular: ätbar
• ett-word singular: ätbart
• plural / definite contexts: ätbara

Here, mat is an en-word, and maten is singular, so:

• maten är ätbar
• maten kan vara ätbar

Compare:

• brödet är ätbart = the bread is edible
• livsmedlen är ätbara = the food items are edible

Ätbar means edible or safe/possible to eat.

It is built from:

• äta = to eat
• -bar = -able

So literally it means eatable / edible.

It is a perfectly normal word, especially in practical or formal contexts like food safety. In everyday conversation, people might also say things like:

• går att äta = can be eaten
• okej att äta = okay to eat

But ätbar is completely natural here.

It means after the best-before date.

Breakdown:

• efter = after
• bäst före = best before
• datumet = the date

So:

• efter bäst före-datumet = after the best-before date

This is a very common phrase on food packaging in Sweden.

The hyphen helps connect the phrase bäst före with datumet.

Since bäst före is a fixed expression, Swedish often uses a hyphen when attaching it to another noun:

• bäst före-datum
• bäst före-datumet

This makes it clearer that the whole thing means best-before date.

Without the hyphen, it would be harder to read.

Datumet is the definite form of datum:

• datum = date
• datumet = the date

So:

• efter bäst före-datum = after a best-before date
• efter bäst före-datumet = after the best-before date

In this sentence, it refers to a specific date, so the definite form is used.

Yes. Datum is an ett-word, so:

• ett datum = a date
• datumet = the date

That is why the definite ending is -et.

Because bäst före is a fixed expression, almost like a label.

It literally means something like best before, but in Swedish it functions as a set phrase on packaging. Since it is not acting like a normal adjective phrase here, it stays the same:

• bäst före-datum
• bäst före-datumet

You do not try to make bäst or före agree with datumet.

The basic order is:

Subject + modal verb + main verb + adjective + time expression

So:

• Maten = subject
• kan = modal verb
• vara = main verb in infinitive
• ätbar = predicate adjective
• efter bäst före-datumet = time-related phrase

Full structure:

• Maten kan vara ätbar efter bäst före-datumet.

This is very similar to English word order:

• The food may be edible after the best-before date.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• Maten kan vara ätbar ... = the food may/can be edible
• Maten är ätbar ... = the food is edible

The version with kan is more cautious and natural for food safety, because it suggests possibility rather than certainty.

No. In fact, this sentence suggests the opposite.

A bäst före date is a best-before date, not automatically a danger date. The sentence says that the food can still be edible after that date.

That matches real Swedish usage:

• bäst före = best before
• sista förbrukningsdag = use-by / last consumption date

Those are not the same thing.

A rough guide for an English speaker:

• ätbar: something like ET-bar
• bäst: roughly best
• före: roughly FUR-eh or FER-eh, with a Swedish ö
• datumet: roughly DAH-too-met

A few useful notes:

• ä sounds somewhat like the e in bed, though not exactly
• ö does not exist in standard English; it is somewhat like the vowel in bird, but with rounded lips
• Stress usually falls on the first part of these words:
  • ÄTbar
  • BÄST före
  • DAtumet

Yes. Depending on context, natural English versions could be:

• The food may still be edible after the best-before date.
• Food can still be edible after the best-before date.
• The food may be safe to eat after the best-before date.

The Swedish sentence does not force just one English translation. Kan vara ätbar can be rendered as can be, may be, or might still be, depending on tone.