Expiration Date on Canned Goods
FJB0623
top/bottom of canned goods? If I can learn to read these markings, I can
destroy those cans which have expired, or are close to expiration, and keep the
others. Thanks for your help.
Bob Y.
They vary from company to company. The year and or month is often a letter while
the date is usually the Julian date for the day it was canned, e.g. 032 = Feb 1.
You could call them if they have an 800 number and ask. Or you could make
friends with one of the stock clerks at your local store and ask him/her.
Better still we could all call the various companies that use coded dates and
tell them we are boycotting them until they start using open dating like
Budwieser does. <g>
d(:)
Bob Y.
TV: a weapon of mass distraction.
— Heard on CNN
Elizabeth & Keith Falkner
>
> Can someone please tell me how to read the expiration date stamped on the
> top/bottom of canned goods? If I can learn to read these markings, I can
> destroy those cans which have expired, or are close to expiration, and keep the
> others. Thanks for your help.
This was interesting for me. Lots of nifty stuff and the bottom line is
call the manufacturer:
Food Product Dating
Dates are printed on many food products. After the date
expires,
must you discard that food? In most cases, no. A
calendar date
may be stamped on a product's package to help the store
determine how long to display the product for sale. It
is not a safety
date.
Product dating is not required by Federal regulations
although
dating of some foods is required by more than 20
states. Calendar
dates are found primarily on perishable foods such as
dairy
products, eggs, meat and poultry. Coded dates might
appear on
shelf-stable products such as cans and boxes of food.
There are several types of dates:
"Sell-by" date - tells the store how long to
display the
product for sale. You should buy the product
before the date
expires.
"Best if Used By (or Before)" - recommended for
best flavor
or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
"Use-By" - the last date recommended for the use
of
product while at peak quality. The date has been
determined
by the manufacturer of the product.
"Closed or Coded Dates" - packing numbers for use
by the
manufacturer in tracking their products. This
enables
manufacturers to rotate their stock as well as
locate their
products in the event of a recall.
Coded date? It depends...
http://survival-center.com/foodfaq/ff18-shl.htm
http://www.usda.gov/agency/fsis/dating.htm
Some companies have their codes on the Web (dog food!):
http://www.iams.com/fftfb/library/ffttb/41r.htm
This was fascinating...my HIGHEST recommendation!:
http://miaminewtimes.com/1997/073197/metro1.html
Fresh or Free lasted an entire week here in Sarasota. I missed it.
Elizabeth
PENMART10
(FJB0623) writes:
>Can someone please tell me how to read the expiration date stamped on the
>top/bottom of canned goods? If I can learn to read these markings, I can
>destroy those cans which have expired, or are close to expiration, and keep
>the
>others. Thanks for your help.
Those codes do NOT represent *expiration* dates.
Those codes do represent batch/lot numbers, and of course *contents*.
Canned goods are coded chiefly for identification purposes, and secondarily to
facilitate stock rotation, but not because the contents expire.
Sheldon
````````````
On a recent Night Court rerun, Judge Harry Stone had a wonderful line:
"I try to keep an open mind, but not so open that my brains fall out."
Ramone
>On 12 Jul 1998 16:23:48 GMT, fjb...@aol.com (FJB0623) wrote:
>
>>Can someone please tell me how to read the expiration date stamped on the
>>top/bottom of canned goods? If I can learn to read these markings, I can
>>destroy those cans which have expired, or are close to expiration, and keep the
>>others. Thanks for your help.
>
>They vary from company to company. The year and or month is often a letter while
>the date is usually the Julian date for the day it was canned, e.g. 032 = Feb 1.
>You could call them if they have an 800 number and ask. Or you could make
>friends with one of the stock clerks at your local store and ask him/her.
Hahahahahahahahahahaha. That's a good one. You're funny. Ask the
stock clerks. Hahahahahahahaha.
IMOCKU
>top/bottom of canned goods? If I can learn to read these markings, I can
>destroy those cans which have expired, or are close to expiration, and keep
>the
>others.
Honestly, my biggest worry is with canned tomatoes and tomato soup. I wouldn;t
keep them for more than a year regardless of whether the can is normal looking
or not.
If you can't read the date, or reach the manufacturer, you're better off
throwing away questionable canned items. IMHO, it's better to spend .45 -
$1.00 for replacement items than guess and be sorry.
Ilene (NY)
IMO...@aol.com
I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused.
Sheila Bostick
fjb...@aol.com (FJB0623) wrote:
>Can someone please tell me how to read the expiration date stamped on the
>top/bottom of canned goods? If I can learn to read these markings, I can
>destroy those cans which have expired, or are close to expiration, and keep the
>
I use a Sharpie (indelible pen) to mark the date (MM/YY) I bought on canned foods before they go on the shelf. Once a year, usually in December, I go
through the inventory and donate to a food drive the cans which are
one year or more old. This keeps my canned food inventory fresh and gives
useful food to food drives before the food expires.
Sheila
Bob Y.
>I use a Sharpie (indelible pen) to mark the date (MM/YY) I bought on canned foods before they go on the shelf. Once a year, usually in December, I go
>through the inventory and donate to a food drive the cans which are
>one year or more old. This keeps my canned food inventory fresh and gives
>useful food to food drives before the food expires.
>
>Sheila
Shelf life is usualy 2 years from the date you purchase a can. Yes, if a can has
sat on the shelf for 2 years before you bought it. . . . Problem is, as I noted
before the people who use coded dates, are not likely to share them. (Yeah,
Sheldon, but if the chain is big enough they might part with "pull by" type
dates.
Not using open dating is bordering on a <gasp> conspiracy among the canners. Or
it might be a reluctence to change. (Hey, Grand Pop did it that way.). I think
it is more of it will cost money to change the way we do it, more than anything
else, except possibly greed.
Scott B.
wrote:
>On Sun, 12 Jul 1998 18:11:34 GMT, rdy...@wcc.net (Bob Y.) wrote:
>
>>On 12 Jul 1998 16:23:48 GMT, fjb...@aol.com (FJB0623) wrote:
>>
>>>Can someone please tell me how to read the expiration date stamped on the
>>>top/bottom of canned goods? If I can learn to read these markings, I can
>>>destroy those cans which have expired, or are close to expiration, and keep the
>>>others. Thanks for your help.
>>
>>They vary from company to company. The year and or month is often a letter while
>>the date is usually the Julian date for the day it was canned, e.g. 032 = Feb 1.
>>You could call them if they have an 800 number and ask. Or you could make
>>friends with one of the stock clerks at your local store and ask him/her.
>
>Hahahahahahahahahahaha. That's a good one. You're funny. Ask the
>stock clerks. Hahahahahahahaha.
>
Thats for damn sure. Stock clerks know nothing other than how to face
up their shelves. Most of them don't even rotate their stock.
Scott - Humboldt County, CA
Use ROT-13 to display my valid reply address.
Stan Horwitz
: They vary from company to company. The year and or month is often a letter while
: the date is usually the Julian date for the day it was canned, e.g. 032 = Feb 1.
: You could call them if they have an 800 number and ask. Or you could make
: friends with one of the stock clerks at your local store and ask him/her.
: Better still we could all call the various companies that use coded dates and
: tell them we are boycotting them until they start using open dating like
: Budwieser does.
But is this really that important? I have been a canned goods food eater
for many years. On several ocassions, I have eaten food that was canned a
year or two earlier and the food tasted fine (as far as canned food
usually does). There's nothing that can happen in a sealed can so unless
the can starts to bulge in places (due to the growth of bacteria) its fine
to eat the food in that can.
A. T. Hagan
>Can someone please tell me how to read the expiration date stamped on the
>top/bottom of canned goods? If I can learn to read these markings, I can
>destroy those cans which have expired, or are close to expiration, and keep the
>others. Thanks for your help.
I've only got a few in there right at the moment, but if you check out
the Prudent Food Storage FAQ you'll find a couple of date code decoding
schemes. In the version 3.0 update I'm working on I'll have quite a few
more. The subject is drawing a lot of interest.
...............................Alan.
--
From the House at Cat's Green -- Alan T. Hagan, NRA Life Member
The Universe is utterly indifferent to the fact that
you do not realize the consequences of your actions,
you will have to deal with them just the same.
Prudent Food Storage FAQ editor. The FAQ is available from:
http://www.waltonfeed.com/grain/faqs/ (ver 2.5)
http://www.survival-center.com/foodfaq/ff1-toc.htm (ver 2.5)
http://www.d-n-a.net/users/dnetIULU/files.html (ver 2.5)(EUROPE)
http://www.millennium-ark.net/News_Files/Info_Files.html(ver 2.5)(AUSTRALIA)
http://cypress.idir.net/~medintz/surv_faq/surv_faq_index.html (ver 2.0)
The most current FAQ version is now 2.5
Mrs. M
codes on all products. (many have toll free #s)
Shelf life differs from product to product. (Example: Jell-O gelatin
and puddings have a 2 yr life, except the pistachio flavor (12 months
because of the nuts) and lemon pudding (18 months-after that it loses
tartness.)
Just cleaned out my cupboards, but didn't throw any canned goods away.
Mrs. M
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