Your questions and comments are important to us. We frequently need to follow-up by phone or postal mail. Please provide this information in addition to your email address to help us reply to you.
| This will be a growing page of deciphering food product coding. It is divided into 3 parts; food coding, emailing manufacturer and company website addys. Download julian calendar (2004) as a pdf file, fairly easy to estimate if in grocery store figuring out coding of item. Marrs candy uses week of year manufactured in their coding. Some vendors use alphabet letters A thru L to signify the month. Mealtime.org is the only other page on the net that has coding examples (Canned Food Alliance consortium - nice of them to interpret their own coding!!). Please send me an email if you have a question of decoding a particular item. I will email the vendor for information, if they are uncooperative - I will list them as such. If this page is circulated via the email brigade, it may influence more vendors to code expiration dates in easy to understand English. As a consumer, I have the right to purchase the freshest product at the grocery store. Only bill in congress is HR 2699, deals with state rights (scroll down to G 1). It is worthless at a federal level to enforce freshness dating. |
| Baking | ||||
| Product | Code Example | Format | Shelf Life | Expiration Date |
| Pillsbury Flour | H3L08 | Month (A - L) | Y | XXX Manufactured | 1 Year | Aug 04 |
| Pillsbury Cake Mix | K3T19 | Month (A - L) | Y | XXX Manufactured | 1 Year | Nov 04 |
| Pet Evaporated Milk | K3B2112E | Month (A - L) | Y | DD | XXX Manufactured | 1 Year | Nov 21 04 |
| Beans | ||||
| Product | Code Example | Format | Shelf Life | Expiration Date |
| Bush's | E1633 | Month | Day | Y | x Manufactured | 3 Years | May 16 06 |
| Beverage | ||||
| Product | Code Example | Format | Shelf Life | Expiration Date |
| Gatorade | CT56429138 | xx| Julian | Y | xxxxx | Pull Date | Feb 25 04 |
| Gatorade is in the process of changing to "Best By" non-code dating. |
| Candy | ||||
| Product | Code Example | Format | Shelf Life | Expiration Date |
| Hershey Chocolate | 4B | Y | Month (A - L) | Pull Date | Feb 01 04 |
| Marrs | M & M | 350xx | Y | Week Manufactured | 1 Year | Dec 07 04 |
| Farley & Sanders | 4033xx | Y | Julian | Pull Date | Feb 02 04 |
| Just Born | 40303xx | Y | MM | DD | Plant | Pull Date | Mar 03 04 |
| Marrs is in the process of changing to "Best By" month - day - year dating. |
| Cookies | ||||
| Product | Code Example | Format | Shelf Life | Expiration Date |
| Keebler | Sunshine | 4214 | Year | Julian | Pull Date | Aug 01 04 |
| Nabisco | 4214xxxxx | Year | Julian | Plant | Pull Date | Aug 01 04 |
| Famous Amos | 02164 | MM DD Y | Pull Date | Feb 16 04 |
| Gum | ||||
| Product | Code Example | Format | Shelf Life | Expiration Date |
| Wrigley | 160204 | DD MM YY | Pull Date | Feb 16 04 |
| Popcorn | ||||
| Product | Code Example | Format | Shelf Life | Expiration Date |
| Act II | xx3322xxxx | Plant | Year | Julian | 1 Year | Nov 17 04 |
| Sauces & Oils | ||||
| Product | Code Example | Format | Shelf Life | Expiration Date |
| Wessons Oils | M3279xxxx | Plant | Year Manufactured | Julian | 1 Year | Oct 06 04 |
| Old El Paso Picante | K3B2112E | Month (A-L) | Year | xx | Day Manufactured | 2 Years (questionable) | Nov 11 05 |
| Snacks | ||||
| Product | Code Example | Format | Shelf Life | Expiration Date |
| Pringles | 03264xxxxx | Year Manufactured | Julian | 18 months | Mar 20 05 |
| Sun Maid Raisins | xx03Dec02 | DD Month YY Manufactured | 18 Months | May 03 04 |
| David & Sons | xxxxxx4B | Plant | Year | Month (A-L) | Pull Date | Feb 01 04 |
| Moon Pies | 032504xx | MMDDYY | Pull Date | Mar 25 04 |
| Hot Pockets | 03264xxxxx | Year Manufactured | Julian | Unsure | Watch for freezer burn |
| Kellogg Snack Bars | PM06124A62 | xx | MMDDY | xxx | Pull Date | Jun 12 04 |
| Kellogg's and Hot Pockets are in the process of changing to "Best By" month - day - year dating. |
| Below is a sample page found when clicking a food manufacturer "contact us" link. I only provide an email addy (hotmail), first name (use any so they know a person is on other end of email), state and nearby zip code. If you can not send without providing more required information - put an X in those boxes. |
| Sample text in comments |
| Could you give me the expiration date of this 16 oz bottle of Old El Paso picante sauce. What is the shelf life of the product from manufacturing date to expiration? K3B2112E 09:15 Thank you Ron |
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May We Help? Your questions and comments are important to us. We frequently need to follow-up by phone or postal mail. Please provide this information in addition to your email address to help us reply to you. |
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| Email Address: *Required* | |
| First Name: | |
| Last Name: | |
| Address: | |
| City: | |
| State/Province: | |
| Zip/Postal Code: | |
| Country: | |
| Day Phone Number: | ( ) - |
| Evening Phone Number: | ( ) - |
| If you're contacting us about a product, please enter the complete name of the product, including the brand and flavor. | |
| Product Name: | |
| Please provide the UPC code from the product package, if available. | |
| UPC Code: | |
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| Subject of Email: | |
| Comments: | |
| A reply I received back |
| Dear Consumer: Thank you for taking the time to contact our company regarding productcodes. Our manufacturing codes are composed of a series of letters and numbers that identify the date of production. M= The month of production (A= January, B=February, C=March, etc.) Y= A number standing for year of production (1=2001, 2=2002, etc.) P or PP= A letter or two letters standing for the plant DD= Two numbers identifying the date of production (01-31) Example: a production code starting with B2NV27 would indicate that the product was made on February 27, 2002. For best quality: * Use Old El Paso salsa, picante sauce, taco sauce, refried beans, whole beans, black bean dip, seasoning mixes, canned or jarred jalapeno peppers, and canned Spanish rice within 24 months of production. * Use Old El Paso canned green chiles, canned enchilada sauce, and dry rice mixes within 18 months of production. * Use Old El Paso cheese & salsa dip within 12 months of production. * Use Old El Paso soft tortillas, and dinner kits containing only soft tortillas within 9 months of production. * Use Old El Paso hard taco shell products, hard & soft taco shell products, and dinner kits containing hard taco shells within 6 months of production. Sincerely, Thomas H. Batty General Mills Consumer Services |
| Below are companies, their products and websites to email. Lets say you have an item in question and don't know who makes it. Look for the upc (represents 12 digits: a company prefix followed by an item reference number and a "check digit") on the barcode (example or history). Go to upcdatabase (either advanced or whole upc) or Defense Logistics Agency. It should give the maker of product. Below are parent companies of makers of products. Sometimes, its hard to figure out which company is the parent; who owns what. Email them for interpretation of code dating. Feel free to include link to this page addy in email. Consumer pressure on companies to voluntarily use "best buy" dating will speed up the process. This page lists some toll-free hotline numbers of companies, composed in 1998. |
| Bush's |
| Web site: www.bushbeans.com |
| Brand: Bush's: Baked Beans, Black Beans, Blackeye Peas, Cannellini Beans, Chili Beans, Chili Magic, Garbanzo Beans, Kidney Beans, Pinto Beans, Refried Beans |
| Campbell Soup Company |
| Web site: www.campbellsoup.com |
| Brand: Campbell Soup, Pace, V8 Beverages, Swanson, Prego, Franco-American, Pepperidge Farm, Godiva. |
| ConAgra Foods |
| Web site: www.conagrafoods.com |
| Brand: ACT II, Andy Capp's Snacks, Crunch 'n Munch, David & Sons' Firecracker, Gilardi Foods, Hunt's ,JHS, Jiffy Pop, Kid Cuisine, Lunch Makers, Orville Redenbacher, Pemmican, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, The Max,Angela Mia Prima Choice, Award, Blue Bonnet, Butterball, Chef Boyardee, Cook's Ham, County Line, Homestyle Bakes, Inland Valley, Knott's Berry Farm, Lamb Weston, Libby's, Manwich, Margherita Italian Specialties, Oldham's Farm, Parkay, Pauly, Peter Pan, Ready Crisp, Swift Premium Brown 'N Serve Sausages, Swiss Miss, Van Camp's, Wesson, Armour, Banquet, Big Mama Sausage, Bumble Bee, Chun King, Decker, Dennison's, EA Miller Blue Ribbon Angus and Beef, Eckrich, Gulden's, Hebrew National, La Choy, Longmont Turkey, Luck's, MaMa Rosa's, Marie Callender's, Nikos, Patio, Pierce Chicken, Ranch Style, Ro Tel, Singleton, Texas Signature Foods, Treasure Cave, Webber Farms, Wolf Brand Chili, Wolfgang Puck, Country Pride, Culturelle, Egg Beaters, Fleischmann's, Healthy Choice, Hunt's, Lightlife, Meridian, Move Over Butter, PAM, Rosarita |
| Del Monte Foods |
| Web site: www.freshdelmonte.com |
| Brand: Contadina, S & W, Del Monte, Sunfresh, Starkist, College Inn |
| The Dial Corporation |
| Web site: www.dialcorp.com |
| Brand: Armour Star canned meats |
| General Mills |
| Web site: www.generalmills.com |
| Brand: Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Cheerios, Bisquick, Big G Cereals, Green Giant, Chex |
| Hormel Foods Corporation |
| Web site: www.hormel.com |
| Brand: DINTY MOORE Microwave Meals, DINTY MOORE BAKES Products | HERB-OX Bouillon, HORMEL Bacon Toppings, HORMEL Chili | HORMEL Chunk Meats, HORMEL Microwave Meals and Soups | KID'S KITCHEN Microwave Meals, MARY KITCHEN Hash, | SPAM Family of Products, STAGG Chili | ALWAYS TENDER Flavored Pork, Beef, Chicken, and Turkey | HORMEL Fully Cooked Entrees |
| Kellogg |
| Web site: www.kelloggs.com |
| Trade Names: Eggo, Worthington Foods, Morningstar Foods, Loma Linda, Natural Touch, Keebler, Sunshine, Famous Amos, Murray Biscuits, Little Brownie Bakers |
| Brand: Kellogg's, Keebler, Pop-Tarts, Eggo, Cheez-It, Nutri-Grain, Rice Krispies, Special K, Murray, Austin, Morningstar Farms, Famous Amos, Carrís, Plantation and Kashi. |
| MultiFoods (acquired by Smuckers in March 2004) |
| Web site: www.multifoods.com |
| Brand: Pillsbury, Hungry Jack, Pet Evaporated Milk, Martha White |
| Ocean Spray Cranberries |
| Web site: www.oceanspray.com |
| Brand: Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce | Ocean Spray Cran.fruit resealable sauces | Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice and cranberry juice blends | Ocean Spray Grapefruit Juices and grapefruit juice blends | Ocean Spray Craisins sweetened dried cranberries | Ocean Spray Spritzers | Ocean Spray No Thaw juices and juice blends | Ocean Spray Original Fruit Mixers | Ocean Spray Cravin' |
| Pepsico |
| Web site: www.pepsico.com |
| Trade Names: Pepsi, Quaker, Tropicana, Frito Lay, Gatorade |
| Brand: Quaker cereals, Aunt Jemima, Frito Lay chips and dips, Natural snacks, Gatorade drinks |
| Procter & Gamble Company |
| Web site: www.pg.com |
| Brand: Pringles, Folgers, Olay, Progresso |
| Seneca |
| Web site: www.senecafoods.com |
| Brand: Apple Chips, Libby's Vegetables, Aunt Nellie's, Lohmann glass vegetables, Blue Boy Vegetables |
| Unilever Bestfoods |
| Web site: www.bestfoods.com |
| Brand: Ragu, Lifton, Bertolli, Birdseye, Slimfast, Knorr, Country Crock, Hellmanns, Best Foods, Skippy, Lawrys |
| Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company |
| Web site: www.wrigley.com |
| Brand: Juicy Fruit, Big Red, Doublemint, Spearmint, Winterfresh, Orbit, Orbit White, Eclipse, Extra, Freedent, Surpass, Airwaves, Alpine, Eclipse Flash |
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