expiration dates on food packaging provided by barbara brown, ph.d., r.d./l.d., food specialist...

Expiration Dates onFood Packaging

Provided by Barbara Brown, Ph.D., R.D./L.D.,

Food Specialist Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service,

Associate Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences

Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service 2

Today you will learn:

• How to use open dating

• How to interpret the date on egg cartons

• What you can learn from closed dating (coded)

2009


Think about it…

• Sally found a carton of eggs in her refrigerator with a date that has already passed. Eggs are expensive these days and she decides to use them anyway.

• What would you do?

2009


Is dating required by federal law?

• In general, no• Required for

infant formula & some baby food

• If use calendar date:• Must give month,

day, & year (on shelf-stable & frozen products)

• Immediately next to date must be phrase explaining meaning of date ("sell-by" or "use before”)

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Dating formula & baby food

• Dating is for quality & nutrient retention

• Federal regulations require "use-by" date on infant formula & baby food under FDA inspection

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• If eaten date on container, formula or food must contain at least the quantity of each nutrient as described on label

• Formula must be able to pass through an ordinary bottle nipple

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• “Use-by" date chosen by manufacturer, packer or distributor based on product analysis throughout its shelf life; tests; or other information• Also based on conditions of

handling, storage, preparation & use printed on label

• Do not buy or use baby formula or baby food after its "use-by" date

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Who does requirefood product dating?

• U.S. has is no uniform system

• Over 20 states require dating of some foods• In some areas of

much of food supply has some type date, in other areas almost, no food is dated

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2 types of dates

• "Open Dating“: uses a calendar date• Date stamped on package to help

store determine how long to display product for sale

• Helps buyer know time limit to purchase or use product at its best quality

• Is not a safety date• “Closed Dating”: uses a code on food

product 2009


What Types of Food Are Dated?

• Open dating found primarily on perishable foods such as meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products, cereal, baked goods

• "Closed" or "coded“ used on some shelf-stable products• Cans & boxes

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Open Dating• Date easy to identify & interpret• Date beyond which quality may

fall below normal level


Types of open dating• "Sell-By" date: tells

store how long to display product for sale• Buy product before

date expires• Food still good for a

period of time at home if properly stored & handled

• Freezing makes date useless

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Types of open dating

• "Best if Used By (or Before)" date: recommended for best flavor or quality• Not a purchase or

safety date• After date has

passed there may be noticeably drop in quality

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Types of open dating

• "Use-By" date: last date recommended for use of product while at peak quality• Date determined by

manufacturer

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What about eggs?

• Manufacturers not required to put expiration or sell-by date on egg cartons

• Cartons must show when eggs were packed

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Example

• Carton stamped “P 1692 070 SELL BY Apr 8”• Sometimes stamp reads “P1692 070 EXP

Apr 8”• Last 3 digits of the first number indicate

pack date, using the Julian calendar• In Julian dating system, the number

represents the consecutive days of the year• Jan 1 = 001, Dec 31 = 365 (or 366 in a leap year)

• This carton packed on day 070 (Mar 11)

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“P 1692 070 SELL BY Apr 8”

• American Egg Board: fresh shell eggs can be stored in their cartons in refrigerator for 4-5 weeks beyond pack date without significant quality loss

• Eggs would be good until April 8th or 15th

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Recommendations for eggs

• Always buy eggs before "Sell-By" or "EXP" date on carton

• At home, refrigerate eggs in original carton, in coldest part of refrigerator, not in door

• For best quality, use within 3-5 weeks of purchase date• “Sell-by“ or “EXP” date will usually

expire during that time, but eggs are safe to use

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Dates are not a guide for safe use of foods

• Tips: • Buy before

date expires• Follow

handling recommendations on food


Refrigerate or freeze• Perishables: take

home immediately & refrigerate promptly• Freeze if can't use in

time recommended• Once frozen, date

doesn't matter• Foods kept frozen continuously are safe indefinitely


Coded or closed dating

• Used for canned/packaged foods with long shelf life

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What is in the code

• Code not readable by consumers• Provides info on date & place of

packing• Useful in recalls• Required on low-acid, canned

foods• Some companies will give

information on what the code means if asked

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Cracking canned food codes

• No uniform coding system used• Some tell day, month, year of

production• Some only give year• Others numbers refer to specific

plant manufacturing or product information

• Usually found on top or bottom of can

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Reading can codes

• Each canned food manufacturer has unique coding system

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Deciphering the date (not universally used)

• For month coding, if a number is used, numbers 1-9 = Jan-Sept, & letters O=Oct, N=Nov, D=Dec• If letters are used, A=Jan &

L=Dec., unless otherwise noted• For year coding, 0=2000;

1=2001; 2=2002, 3=2003, etc

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Examples

• Del Monte Foods• First line, four

digits• Position 1: Year• Position 2, 3 and

4: Julian Date• Example: 9045

(February 14, 2009)

• Bush Brothers & Co• Four digits:• Position 1: Month• Position 2 and 3:

Day• Position 4: Year• Example: 2069

(February 6, 2009)

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General can storage times

• If cans remain in good condition & have been stored in cool, clean, dry place

• High-acid foods can be stored on shelf 12-18 mo.

• Low-acid foods keep 2-5 years

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Once the package/can is open

• Any date is no longer meaningful

• Store correctly to extend shelf-life—see charts in handout

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Tips to determining storage time for top quality

• Buy the food before date expires• Take perishable food home

immediately after purchase, refrigerate promptly

• Freeze food if won’t be used it within times recommended on chart in handout

• Follow handling recommendations on product

• Consult storage chart in handout2009


What would you do?

• Sally found a carton of eggs in her refrigerator with a date that has already passed. Eggs are expensive these days and she decides to use them anyway.

• What would you do?

2009


Today you learned:

• The types of open dating & how to make the most of the information provided

• How to interpret egg carton dates

• What closed dating (coded) can tell you about food products


Questions?

2009


Sources of information

• Anon. (2007) Food product coding, USDA FSIS at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/food_product_dating/index.asp

• Canned Food Alliance at www.mealtime.org

• Henneman, A. (2005) Decoding food product dates, Univ. of Nebraska Cooperative Extension at http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ftjan05.htm

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http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/food_product_dating/index.asp

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/food_product_dating/index.asp

http://www.mealtime.org/

http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ftjan05.htm

http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ftjan05.htm

expiration dates on food packaging provided by barbara brown, ph.d., r.d./l.d., food specialist...

Documents

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eaten date

date sell

infant formula baby

label formula

food packaging

open dating

closed dating coded