Snack date code decoder

Decode a code

The common formats

A day-of-year code counts days from January 1, so January 1 is day 001 and December 31 is day 365, or day 366 in a leap year. These codes are often called Julian dates in the food business. The same three digits stand for different calendar days in a leap year and a normal year after February 28, which is why the year matters.

A five-digit code can be read two ways. 26298 is October 25, 2026 as YYDDD, but read as DDDYY it would be day 262 of 2098, which no snack on a shelf today carries. When you are not sure, choose “Not sure” and the decoder lists every reading that makes a real date, so you can rule out the impossible ones. If one package from a product line has a plain date next to its code, decode that code first to learn which format the line uses.

Made date or best-by date

A date code tells you a day. It does not tell you what that day means. On one product line it is the day the bag was made, and on another it is the last day of best quality. That difference decides whether you subtract days or add them, so settle it before you pull anything.

• Best-by, use-by or sell-by date. USDA describes these dates as quality and inventory dates, not safety dates, with infant formula as the exception. “Best if Used By” marks best flavor or quality, and “Sell-By” tells the store how long to display the product. If the code is one of these dates, set the decoder to The best-by date and the days left are counted straight from it.
• Made or packed date. USDA describes a closed or coded date as letters and numbers a manufacturer puts on a package to identify when it was produced. If the code is a made date, choose The day it was made and enter the product’s shelf life from the manufacturer. The decoder adds the shelf life to find the best-by date.
• Egg-style pack dates. Egg cartons that carry the USDA grade shield show the day they were packed as a three-digit day of the year, with January 1 as 001. Illinois egg rules call this a Julian pack date. When a snack code uses the day of the year, it reads the same way.

USDA says food without signs of spoilage may be sold, bought, donated and eaten after its “Best if Used By” date, and federal rules require a date only on infant formula. Whether a store keeps a product past its date is a matter of state law, the store’s own policy, and your agreement with the store. The expired snack rules by state page covers each state.

Learn a product line’s format

Each manufacturer picks its own code, and it can differ between product lines from the same company. These steps work out the format for a line you carry:

1. Find a package with a plain date and a code. Many bags and boxes print both. Try each format in the decoder until the code matches the printed date, or lands a set number of days before it, which tells you the shelf life.
2. Check the manufacturer’s consumer page. Some companies explain their date codes in an FAQ or will tell you through their consumer contact line.
3. Ask your supplier or the manufacturer’s rep. They read these codes every day and can tell you which part of the line is the date.
4. Write it down once. Keep a list of each product line’s format and shelf life with your pull rule, so every driver reads codes the same way.

Turn a date into a code

Going the other way helps when you write your own codes on product you bag, or when you want to know what code to look for on the shelf.

Questions

Related tools

Sources

• Food Product Dating, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Meaning of best-by, sell-by and use-by dates, closed or coded dates, the egg pack date, and infant formula as the only federally required date.
• Letter to the food industry on “Best If Used By”, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, May 23, 2019.
• 8 Ill. Adm. Code 65.30, consumer container labeling for eggs, Illinois General Assembly. The three-digit Julian pack date.