Schwan's Expiration Date Decoder (2024)

FAQs

How do you read coded expiration dates? ›

What is the standard expiration date format for foods? The standard format is MMDDYY, where “MM” refers to the month, “DD” refers to the date, and “YY” refers to the year. So if a product says 101525, it means that the product expires on October 15, 2025.

Check the 'use-by' or 'best-before' date when you buy food. 'Best-before' dates give you an idea of how long foods will last before they lose quality. Most products will last beyond their 'best-before' date if they are stored properly. Foods marked with a 'use-by' date must be consumed before or on that date.

Open dating (use of a calendar date) is found primarily on the packages of perishable foods such as meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products. "Closed" or "coded" dating might appear on shelf-stable products such as cans and boxes of food.

The first two numbers stand for the year, while the last three numbers represent the day of the year. For example, if the code was 11322, you would know that the food was manufactured on the 322 day of 2011, or November 22nd, 2011.

The batch code consists of 6 digits and utilizes the Julian Date, the last digit of the year of manufacture, the production line, and the production shift. Example: 036521 036 = The thirty sixth day of the year, in this case February 5th.

Physical Card: The expiry date is prominently displayed on the front of your credit card. It is usually printed as a two-digit month followed by a two-digit year (MM/YY). This indicates the month and year when your card will expire.

The Based On Date field represents the point from which shelf life days should be used to calculate the expiration date for the item. If you use this method, the expiration date of the item is calculated by adding the date that it was completed plus the shelf life days that are defined for the item.

Avoid throwing out rotten food by receiving notifications that your valuable items are about to expire. Use BEEP for commercial use or at home on any items with a barcode. Scan the barcode, input the expiry date and with the sound of a BEEP, you're all set!

Ground beef can be frozen indefinitely, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, it is recommended to use ground beef within 3 to 4 months of freezing, as the quality of the meat will begin to deteriorate over time. Ground beef that has been frozen for too long may not be as flavorful.

Is 5 year old frozen chicken still good? ›

If kept frozen continuously, it will be safe indefinitely. Chicken may be frozen in its original packaging or repackaged. If freezing longer than two months, over wrap the porous store plastic packages with airtight heavy-duty foil, plastic wrap or freezer paper, or place the package inside a freezer bag.

Food that is stored in a freezer at zero degrees will be safe to eat indefinitely. However, if meat is frozen too long it may lose quality and taste. If you are unsure if meat is still fresh, you can determine this once it has been thawed.

This often appears as codes that consist of a series of letters and/or numbers applied by manufacturers to identify the date and time of production, appearing as MMDDYY. For example, "112922" would be read as November 29, 2022.

Look for Expiry Information

If the barcode has the expiry date in it, you'll see it once you scan it. But often, especially with the common 1D barcodes, you'll only see a product number. This means you'll need to look it up in a system or website to find out the expiry date.

Read a closed code as a “made/manufactured on” date.

If the code isn't accompanied by words like “use by,” “sell by,” or “best by,” that means it refers to the date the product was manufactured.

The first two digits are the last numbers of the year and the three digits after the hyphen are the day of that year. So, for instance, a Julian date of 21-001 represents the first day of the year 2021, or January 1, 2021, while a Julian date of 22-165 represents the 165^th day of the year 2022 or June 14, 2022.

The date code format shall be a four-digit number. The first two digits being the last two digits of the calendar year and the last two digits being the week of the year. This is considered the YYWW format. The first week of the year shall be considered the first week in which the first Thursday of the year falls.

The first two digits identify the week, and the second two identify the year. Imagine a DOT Date Code reading '2321'. The first two numbers, '23', indicate the week of manufacture, while the last two numbers, '21', represent the year. Thus, this tire was made in the 23rd week of 2021.